Hogwarts and Guests read Harry Potter
by PotterNerd112
Summary: People of the Future send Seven Books to one Dolores Umbridge, all about one Harry Potter. Join Harry, Hogwarts and some guests from both past and present as they read the Seven Harry Potter Books. Warning: Contains: Abuse and mentions of rape in later chapters. Slash!Drarry!PossiblyMore!
1. Prolouge

**Prologue**

Dolores Umbridge was fuming. It was already halfway through the year and that Potter brat was still here. She thought her detentions would have taught the brat a lesson, but he still spreads his lies about You-Know-Who being back. If only she had something, anything, to prove what a spoiled, lying brat Potter was. Umbridge was abruptly brought out of her thought by 7 books of various sizes falling on her desk. She slowly stood up and looked at the books. She read the title of the first book and a nasty grin sread across her face. She then noticed a note that fell beside the books. She picked it up and read it. The further she read on the note, the nastier her grin seemed. 'Oh, She was going to finally get that Potter Brat!' she thought triumphantly once she finished the note.

While this was happening with Umbridge, Three teens were just walking into the school after a relaxing walk by the lake. Their names were Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They were still talking about Umbridge, or as they liked to call her, The Toad, her Blood-Quill detentions, her Educational Decrees, and, of course, Voldemort. Ron was in the middle of asking if they could just go and eat lunch in the Great Hall when The Toad's voice rang through the corridor.

"All Staff and Students to the Great Hall IMMEDIATELY!" Harry groaned and asked exasperatedly "What does the toad want now?" He only got two shrugs in response. "Let's just go." He said and all three of them set off to the Great Hall.

When they finally got there, they noticed the nasty smile on Umbridges face along with seven books in front of her and a note in her hand. Harry, Ron and Hermione shared uneasy glaces, all wondering the same thing, 'What does The Toad have up her sleeve now?' They walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat across from Neville and the Twins.

"Hem, Hem." Umbridge coughed slightly to get everyone's attention. Harry groaned quietly, 'God, That cough is annoying.' he thought. Nobody looked up so she did it again, this time slightly louder, "Hem, Hem." Still nobody looked up. Umbridge was slowly growing angry. Dumbledore said, "Allow Me, Dolores." and stood up. The quieted down and everyone looked up at Dumbledore. "Everyone please stay quiet and direct your attention to Professor Umbridge and listen to what she has to say." When he finished he sat down and the hall grudgingly directed their attention to the Toad.

"Thank You, Headmaster." said Umbridge tightly. Dumbledore nodded and Umbridge continued. "I have called you all here today to read these seven books." she gestured to the stack of books in front of her. "They are all about Harry Potter's life." Harry looked up horrified. There was an uproar in the Hall. The Weasleys and Hermione were the most prominent in the protests. "You can't be serious?" Asked Harry to himself. Dumbledore stood up and shot sparks out of his wand and said, "Silence." The hall slowly quieted, though the Weasley's and Hermione, along with a few others, including Neville and Luna, were still fuming at the invasion of privacy.

Harry had stayed quiet throughout all the yelling and seemed in his own world. This slightly worried his friends and Hermione shook Harry slightly, causing him to jump. He looked around and realized where he was. He shot a grateful look at Hermione for taking him out of his thoughts. He didn't want to think about the Dursley's and all that they had done to him. He shuddered as one particularly painful memory went through his mind. He shook himself again and listened to Umbridge as she started talking again.  
"Thank you." Said Umbridge. "Now as I was saying, These seven books are about the life of Harry Potter and his life here at Hogwarts. Along with these books I received a note, that I shall read to you now:

_Dear Hogwarts,_

_We sent these books from the future to help with the oncoming war and to prevent unnecessary deaths. A few guests will arrive soon, some will surprise you as they are not from your time. And Harry, We are very sorry, but we had to do this. It does include some things we know you would rather not tell anyone, but it's for the best. We made sure that the one thing you would most defiantly not want any one to know is not included in any of the books, but if you choose that you want everyone to know, you can either tell them or have it in the book by thinking strongly about it. These books are 100% true and anything you read actually happened and what happened in the books from the future can be prevented. This will create a separate dimension so it will not mess up time too much. Also, Once The guests of the past arrive, Harry tell Snuffles to change into his normal form. WHEN SNUFFLES IS HUMAN, NO ARRESTING HIM. WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE THIRD BOOK BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!_

_Sincerely,_

_HJP, HJG, RBW, GMW, GFW, FGW, NFL, LL, and DLM._

Talk broke out in the hall, trying to figure who the initials belonged to, and trying to figure out who 'Snuffles' is. Harry sighed, hoping everyone remembered not to arrest Sirius. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, George, Fred, Neville and Luna all looked at each other, figuring that those were their names. Draco was thinking. He knew that the initials 'DLM' were his, but he figured that if his future self really was apart of this, then that must mean he becomes friends of some sort with Potter, Granger, the Weasels and their friends when he's older. He glances over at Potter and see's him looking at him. Potter asked Draco without words if 'DLM' was him. He nodded. Potter nodded back then turned away.

Dumbledore shot sparks out if his wand to calm down the hall. Once everyone settled down, Dumbledore said, "While we wait for our guests to arrive, lets eat lunch." Ron looked up thankfully at the headmaster as the food appeared on the table. Everyone started getting their food on their plates, wondering who the guests were and who sent the books.

Harry was thoughtful. He didn't want everyone to know what happens at the Dursley's, especially the one thing he doesn't want to think about. He looked at his friends. They deserved to know what goes on. He wasn't sure about the one thing yet, he'd decide on that after he see's who the guests are.

After everyone was done, there was a flash and some people landed in the hall. They were: Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black (as Snuffles), Cornelius Fudge, Madam Bones, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, and Percy Weasley (who was uncomfortable being with his family and from the looks he was receiving.). They went to the tables accordingly: Gryffindor All the Weasley's except Percy, Remus, and Snuffles. Hufflepuff: Tonks and Madam Bones (Madam Bones wanted to sit by her Niece Susan and Tonks was showing House Pride.). Teachers: Fudge and Percy.

Once everyone was settled they waited for the rest of the guest that were coming from a different time. A few minutes later there was a loud crash outside the Hall doors and then they heard screaming.

"James!" a female voice screeched. A few people shared worried glances. "What did you do now?!"

An annoyed male voice answered. "I didn't do anything. Lily-Flower." There was some shocked faces, They knew it was Lily and James Potter.

"James, don't call me Lily-Flower." The female snapped.

"Oh, will you two quit?" asked an exasperated male voice.

"Yeah, It's getting annoying." said another male voice.

"Fine." Said Lily. "Let's just go in the Great Hall."

With that, the door opened and four people stepped inside. Two they expected, Lily and James. The other two people were a Young Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Lily looked at the staff table and saw Dumbledore. "Headmaster, What is going on?"

"We are to read seven books about a student here. May I ask you a question, Miss Evans?" inquired Dumbledore.

"Of course, Headmaster." replied Lily.

"What year is it?"

"It's 1977." replied Lily curiously. Dumbledore nodded.

"That proves it, You're all from the past. It's 1995 here." Lily, James, Remus and Sirius were shocked. Then James and Sirius high-fived saying, "Cool!"

Lily and Remus were both thinking, you could see it on their faces. Finally Lily asked, "How is that possible?"

Dumbledore looked at his old pupil and replied, "People of the future sent back seven books about a student of our time. His name is Harry Potter." James looked shocked. "Yes, James, He's your son. You'll meet him in a moment. First, I would like all four of you to introduce yourselves to the hall and then find a seat."

Lily was first to introduce herself. "My name is Lily Evans, and I am in the middle of my seventh year at Hogwarts. I'm also Head Girl for Gryffindor House." She then looked at James, motioning for him to introduce himself. James saw the motion and said,

"My name is James Potter. I'm also in the middle of my seventh year at Hogwarts. I'm Head Boy for Gryffindor House."

"My name is Remus Lupin," started Remus. "I'm also in the middle of my seventh year at Hogwarts and I was Prefect to Gryffindor House."

"My name is Sirius Black," started Sirius. A few people who didn't know he was innocent shot him angry looks. "I'm in the same year and house as the other three."

They then sat down at the Gryffindor table where a certain raven-haired bot had his head buried in his arms on the table. A bushy haired girl and a red-haired boy were rubbing circles on his back trying to get him to sit up.

"Hello People of the Past..."Started Gred.

"It's a pleasure to meet you..."continued Forge.

"He's Forge..."Said Gred, pointing to Forge.

"And he's Gred..."said Forge, pointing to Gred.

"And We are the Weasley Twins and resident pranksters at Hogwarts." They finished together. James and Sirius looked approvingly at them and Remus just chuckled. Lily was talking to Hermione about classes, so heard none of this.

Lupin and Snuffles looked at each other with pain and laughter in their eyes. Harry had told them when they sat down that when the people from the past showed up, Snuffles would need to transform into Sirius.

Harry decided he needed to get up to warn the hall about Sirius. He stood up and walked to the front of the hall, getting everyone's attention. He shared a quick look with Lupin, who nodded, silently saying to do it. Harry cleared his throat. "At the end of the letter, it said that Snuffles would need to change into his human form when the people from the past showed up. No arresting him when you see him." He sent a glare at the Toad and Minister. "He is innocent, as you will see by the end of third book." Harry, Dumbledore, Remus, McGonagall, Hermione, and the Weasleys minus Percy all quickly cast a combined protection charm on Sirius before he transformed.

A second later, where there was once a big black, grim-like dog stood the older version of Sirius Black. Shouts were heard throughout the hall and spells were cast. Remus, Sirius and Harry were all glad they put a protection charm on Sirius. "ENOUGH!" yelled Harry. Everyone who had been yelling and casting spells stopped and looked at Harry. "Sirius Black is innocent and if you don't believe me, give me or Sirius or Remus Veritaserum, Since i know for a fact that Sirius got no trial and was just chucked in Azkaban for something he didn't do!" Harry said angrily.

Madam Bones looked at the potions professor and said, "Professor Snape, Do you have any Veritaserum to use on Mr. Black to see if he is indeed innocent?"

Snape looked startled at being addressed but he nodded and took a vial of Veritaserum out of his robs which he levitated over to Sirius. Sirius took the bottle and drank it.

"Sirius Black," Started Madam Bones. "Were you ever a servant to Voldemort." People flinched, but Madam Bones knew she would have to use his actual name for it to be a valid question.

"No." He replied immediately.

"Who sold out the Potters to Voldemort?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Is Peter Pettigrew alive?"

"Yes."

"Did Peter Pettigrew kill all those muggles?"

"Yes."

"Where was Peter all these years if he wasn't dead?" "He was in his animagus form of a rat and pretended to be a pet rat to the Weasley's known as Scabbers." This caused Disgusted and Horrified looks to go across the Weasley's faces, except Ron's face just had one of pure loathing on it.

"Thank You." Finished Madam Bones once she knew the Veritaserum would be wearing off soon.

Sirius came back to normal and asked, "Am I free?"

"Yes, , You are free, but We will need to hold a full trial after the readings." replied Madam Bones.

Harry went back to the Gryffindor table to hug his Godfather. "We did it, You never have to go back to that hellhole again." Sirius chuckled. They both sat down.

Harry finally looked at his parents. "James, Lily," he started, getting their attention. "I'm your son, Harry." They smiled and hugged him.

"I kinda figured that if you were James's then you would be mine since we just started dating this year."Said Lily smiling. James smiled, too. Harry smiled back and looked at Umbridge who was starting to talk.

"Now that that is over with, Let's begin. Who'll like to start?" Umbridge asked.

"I will, Dolores." Said Dumbledore levitating the book over to him.

Before he started, Harry officially decided that he wanted what happened to him in to books. His Friends and Family deserved to know. He thought about it as hard as he can and he saw the books glow a little then go back to normal. He let out the breathe he didn't know he was holding. He had done it. He leaned a little against his parents as Dumbledore started.

"**Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. Chapter One, The Boy Who Lived**" read Dumbledore.

* * *

**A/N: I used Fred's initials so it didn't cause suspicion since George's initials were on the the letter. This is my first time writing a story like this, So please, No Flames. Read and Review! **


	2. The Boy Who Lived

** Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER! J.K. ROWLING DOES!**

**A/N: Remus is the younger and Lupin is older. There will be a Younger Sirius and an Older Sirius. Read and Review!**

**Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived**

**"Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. Chapter One, The Boy Who Lived**" read Dumbledore. The 4 of the past looked confused. "Um," Said Lily. "Who's 'The Boy Who Lived'?" A few people in the Hall looked at her but it was Harry who answered. "Mum, You'll find out soon." Lily only nodded, still slightly shocked that she had a son, but glad that he was calling her 'mum'.

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.**

"You're Welcome!" Said Fred, George, James, Remus, and both Sirius's shouted. People laughed and Lily, Lupin and Harry all were chuckling quietly, shaking their heads.

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent most her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

'Accurate description of Petunia' thought Snape.  
"Dudley! Small!" cried Harry indignantly "He's as wide as he is tall!" Laughter was heard throughout the hall and the young Marauders, older Sirius and the Twins were looking appraisingly at Harry. "Though, I must admit that the other descriptions are pretty accurate, especially Aunt Petunia's" Harry added as an afterthought. Laughter again. Dumbledore continued.

**The Dursley's had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"There's nothing wrong with the Potters!" screamed McGonagall, Remus, Lupin, Young Sirius, Older Sirius, Angelina, Katie, Alicia, The Weasley's (minus Percy, though he looked slightly mad, too), Luna, Hermione, and surprisingly Draco and some Slytherins Harry was surprised at what everyone said, but hid it, though he blushed slightly. Harry saw the surprised glances people were making towards the Slytherin table. 'Oh, Come On.' thought Harry. 'It's not a big deal.' Harry along with most of the Slytherins glared at the people looking causing them to look away. Dumbledore chuckled and continued.

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.**

"I take that as a compliment!" said James. People laughed. Hermione and a few Ravenclaws were outraged, 'UnDursleyish' isn't a word!

**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would think of the Potters arrived in the street.**

The look on the pranksters faces, especially James's and surprisingly Harry's, almost made you feel sorry for the Dursleys. _Almost._

**The Dursleys knew the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"A child like _what_ exactly?" asked Alicia, trying not to get too angry at the Dursleys. They were judging a baby and they hadn't even met him. Alicia wasn't the only one who was starting to hate and constantly get mad at the Dursleys if some of the looks on people's faces were anything to go by.

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on this dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the Dursley. Mr Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work and Mrs Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. None of them noticed a large tawny owl flutter past the window. At half past eight, Mr Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs Dursley on the cheek and tried to kiss Dudley bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing cereal at the walls.**

"Brat" was muttered around the hall. Harry snorted. "You have no idea," muttered Harry under his breath. He got one or two strange looks but Dumbledore was still reading so it didn't really matter.

**"Little tyke," chortled Mr Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

"They encouraged it?" asked Lily, appalled. She wasn't the only one, if you could go by the other parents faces.  
"Yeah, they did. In their eyes, Dudley is the perfect example for a young man. I've been questioning their sanity for years because of that." replied Harry, shaking his head and chuckling quietly. The twins looked at Harry. There was hope for him yet.

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar – a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr Dursley didn't realize what he had seen – then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight.**

"It's Minnie!" said The Marauders, the twins, and the Golden Trio. McGonagall's eyes flashed at the nickname.

**What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in the mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive – no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove towards town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping the get that day. But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about.**

"We don't dress strange." said some pure-bloods indignantly Harry just shook his head and Dumbledore continued.

**People in cloaks. Mr Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes – the get-ups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion.**

"If wearing cloaks is 'some stupid new fashion', then I think my uncle is in the wrong century." said Harry. Hermione, Lily, both Remus's and some Ravenclaws agreed with his comment.

**He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt – these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on, and a few minutes later, Mr Dursley arrived in the Grunnings car park, his mind back on drills.**

"One-track mine much?" asked the twins. Harry nodded.

**Mr Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drill that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen and owl even at nighttime.**

"Why are we being so careless?" asked Lily.  
"It will be explained in this chapter," said Harry. His mom nodded and turned back to Dumbledore.

**Mr Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

It took all Harry's will-power not to go into a flashback. He couldn't, however, fully suppress a shudder. His friends and family looked worriedly at him but he shook his head, silently indicating that he wouldn't explain.

**He was in a very good mood until lunch-time, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the street**

"What?!" spluttered Harry to the amusement of the people around him. "Please tell me that he was getting food, or I'm afraid the apocalypse has started." People laughed.

**to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

"Thank Merlin," said Harry, sighing a breath of relief. More laughing.

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This lot were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his was back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**  
**"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard –" **  
**"-yes, their son, Harry-"**  
**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**

"I wish that were true," muttered Harry sadly under his breath. His friends and family were starting to get worried and were dreading what was to come about Harry's home life.

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid.**

"He did realize it? Too bad he forgot," said Harry. People laughed.

**Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure that there were lots of people called Potter with a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure his nephew was called Harry.**

"He didn't even know his own nephews name?" asked Molly horrified.  
"No," replied Harry. 'I'm not even sure he knows it now...' thought Harry, trying to remember his Uncle ever calling him 'Harry', but so far he was coming up blank.

**He'd never seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs Dursley, she always got so upset at a mention of her sister. He didn't blame her – if he'd had a sister like that…but all the same, those people in cloaks… He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon, and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked into someone just outside the door.**  
**"Sorry," he grunted,**

"He knows that word?" asked Harry, truly shocked. People laughed at his expression of disbelief and surprise.

**as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passers-by stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

The guests from the past were shocked. Lily now knew what Harry meant about finding out why they were being so careless later in the chapter. They were too shocked to cheer. 'You-Know-Who was gone. He was gone, he was gone,' was all they could process. Harry sighed and snapped his fingers in their faces, and, when that didn't work, he enlisted the help of the twins, Lupin and Older Sirius. Together they conjured 4 buckets of ice-cold water. "On the count of Three," said Harry. "One...Two...THREE!" shouted Harry and a second later three pranksters were laughing and a red-head was fuming. "Really? The only way to get our attention was to pour ice-cold water on us?" she asked furiously. "Yep," said Harry. She glared at him but he wasn't fazed. Everyone who had been on the other end of the famous 'Evans temper' and her glare were surprised that Harry wasn't cowering in his seat. Harry flicked his wand and the four guests were dry. Harry motioned for Dumbledore to continue before his mom started yelling at him or something.

**And the old man hugged Mr Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

"Wait, if he was tiny, how did his arms fit around my Uncle?" asked Harry disbelievingly. Professor Flitwick blushed. "Professor Flitwick, I'm guessing it was you?" said Harry noticing his professors blush. Flitwick blushed deeper and nodded.  
"I honestly don't know how my arms fit. I was just as surprised as you were. He was huge." said Flitwick Harry chuckled, along with most of the hall, and nodded his agreement.

**Mr Dursley was rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete also had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

The twins, James, and both Sirius's looked horrified. "He didn't believe in imagination?" asked the twins. Harry shook his head and they fainted. Harry just sighed and conjured two more buckets of ice-cold water and dumped it on them causing them to jump up in surprise and glare at Harry before drying themselves off with a flick of their wands and sitting back down. Harry chuckled and Dumbledore continued.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw – and it didn't improve his mood – was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on this garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

"Minnie!" said the Marauders, the twins, and the Golden Trio. McGonagall just shook her head.

**"Shoo!" said Mr Dursley loudly.**

"Not gonna work," sang the twins.

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a very stern look.**

People who had received McGonagall's 'look' shivered.

**Was this normal cat behavior Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. Mrs Dursley had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!").**

"What an achievement," said Hermione sarcastically.

**Mr Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living-room in time to catch the last report of the evening news:**

**"And finally, bird-watches everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundred of sightings of these birds seen since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The news reader allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**  
**"Well, Ted,"**

"Hey, Tonks," said Lupin, getting the attention of the pink-haired girl. "Was that your dad?"  
"Probably," she said after thinking about it. "He sometimes goes on the news, so it's likely." Lupin nodded.

**said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but its not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire and Dundee have been phoning to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shouting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early –it's not until next wee, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**  
**Mr Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…**

"If he can put it together, we're doomed." said Hermione.  
"Well, 'Mione, it depends on how you look at it. He knew about the magical world, so it really isn't that big a deal, aside from the fact that he's used his brain quite a lot that day, which in itself is surprising." said Harry, causing some people to laugh.

**Mrs Dursley came into the living-room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er – Petunia, dear – you haven't heard from you sister lately, have you?"**  
**As he had expected, Mrs Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**  
**"No," she said sharply. "Why?"**  
**"Funny stuff on the news," Mr Dursley mumbled. "Owls … shooting stars … and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"**  
**"So?" snapped Mrs Dursley.**  
**"Well, I just thought…maybe…it was something to do with…you know…****_her_**** crowd."**

"My Crowd!? What is that supposed to mean?" asked Lily furiously, knowing by 'her' who they meant.  
"Nothing, Mum, they just mean witches and wizards." said Harry like it was nothing, which, to him, at least, it was. She was still slightly mad at her sister and brother-in-law, but she calmed down slightly.

**Mrs Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name 'Potter'. He decided he didn't dare.**

"Coward," some people muttered.

**Instead he said, casually as he could,**  
**"Their son – he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?'**  
**"I suppose so," said Mrs Dursley stiffly.**  
**"What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**  
**"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**  
**"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

"Nobody asked you!" said the Weasleys (minus Percy), James, Lily, Remus, Lupin, Older Sirius, Younger Sirius, Hermione, The Gryffindor chasers, Luna, Neville, and surprisingly Draco, though no one heard him, or so he thought.  
Harry blushed at the people defending him. It surprised him, no-one ever really defended him against the Dursleys, even though they weren't here at the moment. He was trying to process why Draco defended him, but decided to figure that out later.

**He didn't say another word on the subject s they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs Dursley was in the bathroom. Mr Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down unto the front garden. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it was waiting for something. Was he imagining things?**  
**Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did … if it got out that they were related to a pair of – well, he didn't think he could bear it?**  
**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought of them and their kind … He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on. He yawned and tuned and tuned over. It couldn't affect them. How very wrong he was.**

"Why couldn't he be right? Just once?" asked Harry under his breath. Alarmed looks were sent his way, but he just ignored them and continued to listen to the book.

**Mr Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed in the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all. A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed. Nothing like this man had ever been seen in Privet Drive. He was tall, thin and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak which swept the ground and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"Oh, really," said Harry sarcastically. "I thought it was the other guy with the long beard, sparkling eyes, high-heeled boots, and crooked nose." People laughed.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.**

"Oh, I knew," said Dumbledore, chuckling. "I just didn't care."

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, which was staring at him from the opposite end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**  
**He had found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it in the air and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again – the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer,**

"Actually, it's called a Deluminator, and I invented it myself," said Dumbledore before continuing

**until the only lights left in the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street towards number four, where he sat don on the all next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**  
**"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**  
**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald green one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**  
**"How did you know it was me?" she asked.**  
**"My dear professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**  
**"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**  
**"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feast and parties on my way here."**  
**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

"Professor, How do you sniff angrily?" Inquired the twins. She just shook her head a glared.

**"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no – even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls … shooting stars … Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars in Kent – I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle.**

"It does sound like something he would do," said Older Sirius chuckling.

**He never had much sense." **  
**"You can't blame them,' said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

"Eleven years?" said Harry. "Merlin, I hope this war doesn't last that long." Umbridge snapped.  
"THERE IS NO WAR! YOU-KNOW-WHO IS NOT BACK! QUIT SPREADING LIES!" she screeched.  
"THERE IS A WAR GOING ON! YOU NEED TO BLOODY ACCEPT THAT! AND FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, SAY BLOODY VOLDEMORT!" People flinched, much to the annoyance of Harry. "IT'S JUST A NAME, AND IT ISN'T EVEN HIS REAL ONE!" Harry yelled back, causing Remus, Lupin, Younger Sirius, and Older Sirius to hold their ears because of their sensitive hearing. Harry was fed up with the Toad. Her not believing that Voldemort was back on top of her Blood-Quill detentions and memories of his life at the Dursleys and seeing his parents had caused him to snap. He took a deep breath and said as calmly as he could, "Headmaster, Will you please continue." Dumbledore nodded and obliged. All the Marauders Past and Present, shared a look, one thought in all their minds. 'Lily's Temper.'

**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being down right careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**  
**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"**  
**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"A _what_?" asked some pure-bloods. Dumbledore chuckled.

**"A ****_what_****?"**

Those who had asked blushed while the hall laughed.

**"A what?"**  
**"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**  
**"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops.**

"It really wasn't, Albus." said McGonagall.  
"Ah, Minerva, it's always the moment for lemon drops." replied Albus and, as if to prove his point, he popped one in his mouth and bowls appeared on the table full of lemon drops. Some people ate some as well, others just ignored them. Dumbledore continued.

**As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone-"**  
**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense – for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort." Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore. Who was unsticking two lemon drops, appeared not to notice.**

"It's just a bloody name," muttered Harry, annoyed, as people flinched.

**"It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who'. I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**  
**"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half-exasperated, half-admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know – oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."**  
**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**  
**"Only because you're too – well – noble to use them."**  
**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she like my new earmuffs."**

The twins gagged. "TMI, professors," they said. Poppy blushed and glared at Albus who just chuckled.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**  
**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold hard wall al day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever 'everyone' was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**  
**"What they're saying," she pressed on "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are – are – that they're – dead."**

Lily gasped and looked sadly at Harry with tears in her eyes, noticing that her son had buried his head in his arms. She looked over to James and hugged him. Younger Sirius and Remus looked sadly at each other, not wanting to believe that their best friends were going to die in the near future. Lily and James hugged their son. Harry was willing himself not to cry. Hagrid blew his nose in his handkerchief. People bowed their heads in respect and Dumbledore continued.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**  
**"Lily and James … I can't believe it … I didn't want to believe it … Oh Albus …"**

"Didn't know you cared so much, Professor," said James sadly. McGonagall smiled sadly at him.

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know…I know…" he said heavily.**  
**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry.**

Lily gasped and hugged her son closer.

**But – he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke – and that's why he's gone."**  
**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**  
**"It's – it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done … all the people he's killed … he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding … of all the things to stop him … but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"I think everyone wants to know that," mumbled Harry into his mom's shoulder.

**"We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**  
**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's later. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way."**  
**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"**  
**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

Harry looked up. "You couldn't of found me any other home? Anywhere would have been better than the Dursleys. Anywhere." said Harry despairingly People were surprised. What happened at the Dursleys that made Harry despise living there so much? Little did they know that they would know the answer to their question in the next chapter.

**"You don't mean – you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore – you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son – I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets.**

"Brat." people muttered again.

**Harry Potter come and live here!"**  
**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**  
**"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter?**

Harry sat up and glared at Dumbledore. "You explained to my Aunt that she had lost her sister and her brother-in-law to a psychopathic murderer and now had to take care of her nephew in a bloody letter?!" he asked furiously, his glare intensifying Dumbledore cowered slightly but nodded and began reading again before Harry started yelling. Harry fumed, but he calmed down enough to listen to the story.

**These people will never understand him! He'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in the future – there will be books written about Harry – every child in our world will know his name!"**  
**"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?**"

"I understand why you did what you did, but couldn't you have done it any other way?" asked Harry. Dumbledore looked down sadly at the young Gryffindor wondering what happened at the Dursleys before continuing.

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed and then said, "Yes – yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

Harry looked slightly disgusted.

**"Hagrid's bringing him."**  
**"You think it – wise – to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**  
**"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

"So would I, and apparently I have," said Harry.

**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to – what was that?"**  
**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

Exclamations of, "Cool!" and "I want one!" were heard throughout the hall, the most prominent being Younger Sirius much to the amusement of Older Sirius and Hagrid. Harry's thoughts were, 'Wow. I guess it wasn't a dream. Weird.'

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times aw wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of dustbin lids and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**  
**"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**  
**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," and the giant, climbing carefully off the motorbike as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me.**

Younger Sirius jumped up and fist bumped the air, smiling triumphantly. "YES!" he screamed victoriously before sitting down and waiting for Dumbledore to continue as though nothing had happened.

**I've got him, sir."**  
**"No problems, were there?"**  
**"No, sir – house was almost destroyed but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**  
**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**  
**"Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**  
**"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar for ever."**  
**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**  
**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in useful.**

"Yeah," muttered Harry. "If you want nightmares and visions of people dying and getting tortured." Those who heard him sent him a shocked look before continuing to listen to the story.

**I have one myself above my left knee which is a perfect map of the London Underground.**

"Really?" asked the twins. Dumbledore nodded, the ever present twinkle in his eyes. "Cool!" they exclaimed.

**Well – give him here, Hagrid – we'd better get this over with."**  
**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned towards the Dursleys' house.**  
**"Could I – could I say goodbye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid.**  
**He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**  
**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall. "You'll wake the Muggles!"**  
**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large spotter handkerchief and burying his face into it. "But I c-c-can't stand it – Lily an' James dead – an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles –"**  
**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself,**

"Very comforting, Minnie." said Older Sirius chuckling. She glared at him and he put his hands up in surrender, though he had a smile on his face.

**Hagrid, or we'll be found,' Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked up to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets and then came back to the other two.**

Most of the females of the hall were fuming. "You left my son on a doorstep in November!?" asked Lily, her voice deadly calm. Everyone but Harry, who was trying to calm his mother, scooted away at the look on Lily's face. Dumbledore nodded slowly. Before she could explode and go on about what could have happened, Harry did a silent 'Silencio' on his mom right when she started screaming. The Marauders and Snape looked surprised. No-one, and they meant no-one, had ever sat near an angry Lily Evans without getting hurt in some way or other, and Harry sat next to her, tried to calm her, and silenced her when she was angry. After two minutes of screaming, Lily finally noticed that no-one could hear her. She glared at Dumbledore and sat down. Harry sighed. "Finally," he muttered. "Mum, I'll take the Silencio off of you if you promise not to flip out over something that already happened in my time." She nodded and he lifted the spell. Dumbledore continued.

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**  
**"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**  
**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice. "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall – Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

"Never did get that bike back," muttered Sirius.

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself on to the motorbike and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**  
**"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her.**  
**Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**  
**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**  
**"Good luck, Harry," he murmured.**

"I'll need it," Harry muttered. Those who kept hearing Harry's comments were really starting to dread what Harry's home-life with the Dursleys is like.

**He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak he was gone.**  
**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drove. Which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley…He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter – the boy who lived!"**

"That's the end of the chapter," said Dumbledore, closing the book. "Who would like to read next.  
"I will, Professor Dumbledore," said Harry, knowing he would be the only one able to get through the chapter without flipping out, though he hoped he didn't get pulled into a flashback. Dumbledore levitated the book to Harry, who opened the book to the correct page and read,

**"Chapter Two, The Vanishing Glass,"**


	3. The Vanishing Glass

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does.**

**A/N: Finally finished the next chapter. I edited the actual story a little, anything in bold and italics are what I added. I forgot to put that Mad-Eye Moody came in the first chapter! He sat at the teachers table with Fudge and Percy. Read and Review!**

**Warning: Mentions of abuse and rape in this chapter.**

**Chapter Two: The Vanishing Glass**

**"Chapter Two, The Vanishing Glass," **read Harry.

"The Vanishing Glass?" questioned Hermione.

"You'll see," was all Harry said before continuing.

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.**

"Wow," said James. "They really don't change? Like, At All?"

"Rarely." replied Harry.

The twins were slightly mortified. "Our house changes, literally, every second. We make sure of that, even if we aren't even there."

"Then it's a good thing you aren't the Dursley's. They hate change and anything they classify as...as _abnormal_." said Harry and, before anyone can ask about the abnormal reference, continued.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen the fateful news report about the owls.**

"Fateful? A little dramatic much?" questioned Luna.

Harry chuckled and nodded. Luna beamed at him and he continued.

**Only the photoraphs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had past. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large beach ball wearing different colored bonnets—but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby,**

People laughed at the discription of Harry's cousin.

**And now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sigh at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

Harry's friends and family along with a few others sent Harry a worried glance.

"Why, pray tell, are there no pictures of you, Mr. Potter?" asked Snape, surprising some.

Harry blushed. "I don't like to be in pictures?" He said in a half-hearted explination that came out more like a question. Snape shot him a scrutinizing look, as though he was trying to figure out a particulary difficult potion. Harry continued, ignoring his potion professor's intense gaze.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. Hs Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day. "Up! Get up! Now!" she screeched.**

Lily sent her son an understanding look. "She always reminded me of a screaming banshee when she screeched." She said, smirking.

Harry chuckled and nodded. "Now that I think about it, that is a very good comparison." He said before continuing.

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again. "Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of a frying pan being put on the stove.**

"Wow Harry, I guess your room was pretty close to the kitchen." Said Neville.

Harry nodded. The twins noticed that Harry was slowly paling as he read ahead. They shared a worried look and tried to figure out Harry could hear his aunt in the kitchen if his room was on the second floor (When they picked him up in Harry's secon year, at least) and the kitchen on the first. They shared a horrified look as they came to the same conclusion. They really hoped they were wrong. They turned back to Harry as he continued to read.

**He rolled onto his back****_, wincing slightly at the pain it caused,_**** and tried to remember the dream he had been having.**

Now more people were worried. Once Harry noticed the questioning glances , he continued before anyone could ask questions.

**It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

The adults were surprised that Harry remembered that. It happened when he was a baby. Harry blushed at the looks he was receiving from the adults and some upperclassmen and continued.

**His aunt was back outside his door. "Are you up yet?" she demanded. "Nearly," said Harry. "Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

"They made you _cook_?" asked Lily furiously.

Harry nodded. Lily fumed quietly as James calmed her down. 'What was that about?' he asked himself. 'It's not a big deal.' He thought. Shaking his his, he continued.

**Harry groaned. "What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door. "Nothing, nothing…" Dudley's birthday—how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bead and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on.**

Ron winced slightly at the word 'spider'. The twins shared a look. They were going to appologize after this chapter.

**Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stair was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

The twins shared sad looks with each other. They were right, but that didn't mean it was a good thing. With a quick one-second decision they jumped on Harry, knocking him to the ground in a tackle-hug. Harry laughed and hugged the twins back. Harry knew they had figured it out before he said it, it was in their eyes. The three got up and all hell broke loose. Hermione was crying.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" asked Hermione.

"I don't sleep in my cupboard anymore, 'Mione, so it doesn't matter." Harry mumbled. Hermione hugged him. Molly, Lily, James, Both Sirius's, Both Remus's, McGonagall and Snape were yelling at Dumbledore. After many cuss words were thrown at both Dumbledore and the Dursleys, and Lily had yelled herself hoarse and Snape was glaring at the Headmaster with a look that obviosly said 'If you let that boy back there, I will kill you myself." Snape's glare surprised some people, but Harry just looked curiosly at his potions professor until all the yelling started to give him a headache and he snapped.

"SHUT IT!" Yelled Harry. The hall silenced and Harry breathed an annoyed breath. "I know you're all angry about me sleeping in a cupboard for almost a decade, but it doesn't matter. No saying it does. It's in the past and I don't sleep there anymore. I'm going to continue the chapter and you can explode and curse the Dursleys, Dumbledore, or whoever after the chapter, because I'm pretty sure you want to know whatelse happened at the Dursleys." Harry sighed and sat down, picked up the book, and continued, dreading what he knew was coming later in this chapter.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise—unless of course it involved punching someone. Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him.**

"At least there's that," muttered Remus, who had growled when they said that Harry was Dudley's favorite punching bag.

**Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

Ron and Hermione nodded their agreement. "Harry leaves us in the dust whenever he runs. When he figures something out and runs off, he's usually already there and waiting impaitently for us once we get there." Ron said shaking his head and chuckling. Harry blushed slightly and hit Ron on the back of the head ("Ow!" yelped Ron) and continued.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

Lily and James looked over their son and shared a look. They came to a silent agreement, Never let Harry back to the Dursleys, and that Harry is most definatly smaller then they were when they were in 5th year and that needed to be fixed.

** He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was.**

Thinking back on it, the adults realized that Harry rarely wears something that isn't part of the school uniform and when he does, it's usually pretty large.

**Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.**

People scooted away from both Remus's and Sirius's menacing growls. Harry just shook his head fondly, laughing slightly.

**The only thing Harry liked about his appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

"Mate, you actually liked it?" asked Ron incredulusly.

"Yes, Ron, I did before I knew how I had got it. It was the only thing I had to link me to my parents." Said Harry before continuing.

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it. "In the car crash when your parents died," she had said. "And don't ask questions."**

A window broke. Lily quickly fixed it and muttered an appolgy though she wasn't really sorry. The teachers shared a look but McGonagall's the one that asked the question on all the teachers' minds.

"Mr. Potter," Harry looked up at his professor. "Is that why you don't aske questions in class?" Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "Mr. Potter, there is no need to keep your questions to yourself in classes, the Dursley's aren't here." Harry nodded and continued reading before McGonagall continued lecturing him to ask questions in class.

**Don't ask questions****_—_****that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon. "Comb you hair!" he barked, by way of morning greeting. About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way—all over the place. Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel—Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

People laughed. "Who knew you had a sense of humor, Harry. Would you consider coming pranking with us." Said The twins hopefully. Harry saw the looks of hope on his dad and both Sirius's faces and decided that he pull a prank on them, and two on his dad and the younger Sirius.

"Nah, I have to save the world, so I wouldn't have anyy time to," said Harry, but he winked at them and, when both Sirius's and his dad had looked away with cressfallen looks, mouthed to them, 'Let's talk after this chapter.' The twins nodded with concealed looks of glee on their faces.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as their wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

"What? Only got thirty-seven presents?" asked Luna, in a voice you would use on a small child. Harry snorted. Luna heard him and sent him a look. His only explination was pointing to the book and continuing.

**"Thirty-sis," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year." "Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy." "All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face.**

Luna laughed with Harry. People sent them looks as if they were crazy. After a few minutes they calmed down enough for Harry to continue.

**Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down ****_the 2 pieces of bacon he was allowed to have that morning_**** as fast as he could in case Dudley turned the table over.**

Poppy looked over Harry and noticed how underweight he looked. She vowed that she would get him into the Hospital Wing after this chapter.

**Aunt Petunia obviously sented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that alright?" Dudley thought for a moment. I looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty…thirty…" **

"How old was you cousin when this happened?" asked Hermione.

Harry chuckled. "He had just turned 11," Hermione looked horified. So did some Ravenclaws, both Remus's, a few teachers and Lily. Harry continued.

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia. "Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then." Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudlsye's hair. At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR.**

Most purebloods had looks of confusion on their faces. Professor Burbage noticed the looks, sighed, and stood up. "Any muggle words you don't know, write it down on a piece of parchment or ask a muggle-born or muggle-raised friend. At the end of every book, we will go over the words." She said. When she had finished, there was a lot of movement as people took parchment and quills out of their bookbags or asked their friends questions. Mr. Weasley was writing down the mentioned muggle words with glee. Arthur's friends and family shook their heads fondly at him and Harry continued.

**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried. "Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." she jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

"He has a name!" said Luna furiously. Some people jumped at her sudden outburst. "It's HARRY! H-A-R-R-Y! It's not hard to say or spell, so what's the point in not using it?! Bulling people by calling them things other than their actual names and making fun of them, especially when they can hear you, isn't nice!" When she finished, she drew a calming breath. Harry smiled at her. He knew she was bullied because of how she acted, and it was stupid. Luna smiled back at Harry. Neville got up and walked over to the Ravenclaw table and gave Luna a hug. Her smile widened as she hugged him back. Neville wasn't sure why he got up to give Luna a hug, but it might have something to do with a growing fondness that started growing during the D.A. meetings and when they hung out. When Neville came back to the Gryffindor table, Luna followed him and they sat down opposite Harry. Harry smiled at them. 'At least they had each other for the future, even if they didn't realize it yet,' thought Harry fondly before continuing.

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents to him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned. "Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this.**

"Oh, yes," said Harry mysteriously, causing people to give him curious looks. "It's my life's mission to kill Voldemort, save the wizarding world too many times to count, and, of course, ruin your life. Am I really that obvious?" Harry turned to the twins with a mock concerned look on his face.

"Oh, no, our dear Harrikins, it is not obvious in the least." They said in fake consoling voices. Then, before anyone could even blink, all three of them burst out laughing.

Once they calmed down, Luna said, 'Well, you do tend to save the wizarding world a lot," she said with a smirk. Harry nodded and continued.

**Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again. "We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested. "Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

"Feeling mutual," said Harry venomusly, thinking on her last visit and those devil bulldogs she breds.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there-or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

James looked horrified, much to the confusion of some. Both Sirius's and Remus's along with Lily laughed. If you were good at picking up details, like Harry, you would notice that Snape's mouth was curved slightly in an amused manor, even his eyes had a hint of amusement in them. Harry was slightly surprised at his potions professor's show of emotion, even if it was almost non-existent. Seeing the looks they were receiving, Lily explained. "James had an irrational fear of slugs." This caused more laughter and the twins to ask why. Both of the Sirius's answered in unison, much to the amusement of some. "Prank gone wrong, included slugs. Scarred James for life." People nooded and Harry continued.

**"What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?" "On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia. "You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

"Not going to work, mate." Said Ron.

"I know, it was worth a try, though," said Harry.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. "And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled. "I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening. "I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, ". . . and leave him in the car. . . ."**

"He's not a dog!" said Luna and Hermione together. They smiled at each other.

"Hey!" said the Sirius's in with mock-wounded voices.

"Sorry, we didn't mean it like that." They said together again, much to amusement of some, but it freaked out a lot of people. They laughed and Harry continued.

**"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone. . . ."**

"Of course, the car's more important." Said Hermione.

"Yep!" said Harry before continuing, confusing some people.

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

'Brat' people thought.

"**Dinky Duddydums,**

People laughed at the ridiculous nickname, some even ended up on the floor, the twins, marauders, and Luna just to name a few. Once everyone had calmed down enough, Harry continued.

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him. . . don't . . . want . . . him . . . t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. Just then, the doorbell rang —" Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them.**

"Of course you would know that, Harry," said Hermione sadly.

Harry looked at her and said, "Why wouldn't I know? I was Dudley's gang's prime target, even though half the time they couldn't find and/or catch me." People gave him surprised and worried glances, wondering how Harry could talk about being tormented and bullied by Dudley's gang like it was nothing. Though, to Harry, it didn't matter. Harry continued before anyone could say anything.

**Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once. Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life.**

"I'm not really sure that's luck, mate…" said Ron. Harry just shrugged and continued.

**His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"Don't you dare hurt our brother!" said the Weasley siblings (minus Percy, though he looked as if he was about to come over to his family, if his look was anything to go by), Hermione, Luna, and the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Harry was startled by this but hid it, knowing they were going to flip at what his Uncle says and what it says later in the chapter. Wincing slightly at the thought, Harry continued.

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy**

"He has a name," muttered Luna and Hermione.

**— any funny business, anything at all — and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas ****_with a beating that will scar you for life_****." **

Harry winced at the end of the sentence; his Uncle had gone through with that part of his warning. Noticing the wince, the twins shared a look. One thought was in both their heads, 'Harry's uncle went through with the beating.' There was more yelling and cursing towards Dumbledore and the Dursleys. People were so surprised at what Snape was yelling, that the hall quieted down slightly to listen in shock.

"I TOLD YOU ALBUS! I TOLD YOU! YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO ME, OR MINERVA, OR ANYONE! YOU NEVER SHOULD HAVE LEFT HIM WITH THOSE D***ED DURSLEYS! HE'S ABUSED AT THAT HOUSE! IF I FIND OUT THAT YOU EVER SEND HIM BACK THERE, I WILL PERSONALLY KILL YOU, AND I'M SURE THERE WOULD BE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE PLEASED TO HELP!" Snape took a calming breath and glared at everyone staring at him. "What?" he snapped. They quickly looked away and Harry continued, slightly surprised at Snape's outburst but decided to think it over later, their was still more and worse stuff in this chapter.

**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly . . ." But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did. The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen. Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**

"Hey, Tonks," She whipped her head towards Remus when she heard he name. "Is there any chance Harry is a Metamorphagus?" Remus questioned the now pink-haired witch.

"It's possible. I'll test him after the chapter. I'll test Draco as well, they're both related to the Black family and that's where I got the Metamorphagus trait from." She replied. Harry and Draco shared a look, and silently called a truce. Harry continued, looking forward to but also dreading the end of the chapter.

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this ****_and a few punches and a kick or two_****, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

Growls were heard.

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). **

The more fashion-esque people in the room looked slightly revolted.

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry.**

Some people laughed, but most were holding their breath, waiting to see if Harry got punished.

**Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

Those holding their breath let it out in a sigh of relief.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**

"Harry," started Hermione curiously. Harry looked over at his friend. "Did you fly or apparate?"

Harry contemplated the question. After a minute of thinking, he responded. "I'm not positive, but I remember that, as I was running, I was thinking, 'I want to get away from Dudley's gang to where they can't reach me.' So, honestly, it could have been either." People were surprised at his explanation. Moody thought over Harry's explanation.

"Either way," grunted Moody. People jumped in surprise. They had forgotten he was here. "It is extraordinary magic, even more so if it's accidental. You are a very powerful wizard, Harry, and you'd make a great Auror one day." People looked admiringly at Harry. Not many people were complimented by him, and it was high praise when someone was. Harry blushed at the praise and continued.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon ****_after a beating and being thrown roughly into his cupboard then locked inside_****) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

"Pitiful…" said the twins sadly, the marauders nodding in agreement. "We're are giving you lying lessons later." They said. Harry chuckled and nodded, knowing that it would be hilarious and that he couldn't get out of it.

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong.**

"You jinxed it, Harry." Said Hermione. Harry just shrugged and continued.

**It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room. While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.**

"Wow, Harry. Your uncle must really like you," the twins joked.

"Yeah, he just only shows it through insults and complaints about me," said Harry, adding in his head, 'and beatings and NO HARRY! DO NOT THINK ABOUT THAT!' Shaking his head to attempt to clear his thoughts, he continued.

**This morning, it was motorcycles. ". . . roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them. "I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

"Harry…." His friends/family groaned.

"Hey, in my defense I was an over excited 10 year old going to the zoo or the first time in his life. Can you honestly blame me?" asked Harry. After thinking for a minute, some nodded and some shook their heads. Those who nodded got hit upside the head by those who shook their heads and doused in water by Harry. Harry chuckled at their glared and continued.

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

"YES THEY DO!" yelled the twins back childishly. Young Sirius nodded agreement, much to the amusement of his friends and older self. Harry continued, a smile gracing his face.

**Dudley and Piers sniggered. "I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream." But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon — they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

"Oh, yeah, I'm gonna get a dangerous idea from animated animals doing stupid things." Said Harry sarcastically. People chuckled. "What is a cartoon?" inquired the twins curiously. Noticing Mrs. Weasley's warning look, he mouthed later and continued.

**— they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas. It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

The hall laughed at Harry's description. "Harry, that is an insult to gorillas everywhere." Said Luna in a mock-scolding voice. Harry nodded seriously and said, "Of course, I'm sorry gorillas!" Harry said to the ceiling, which, to the amusement and shock of the hall, had turned into a realistic moving picture of a herd of gorillas. A few seconds later, the gorillas disappeared and was replaced by the normal enchanted sky. Harry smiled victoriously at the disbelieving and praising looks he was getting. 'That was easier than I thought it would be,' he thought as he hid his wand again before continuing.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him.**

Growls were heard again.

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

'What is up with the Dursleys? Two treats in one day? To Harry?' was going through some adults and Harry's friends'/family's minds.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"Saw it coming…." Dean muttered under his breath. Seamus, who had heard what his best friend had said, nodded his agreement.

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can —**

"Impressive," said Fred, George nodding in agreement.

"It may be impressive, but could the snake fit around Vernon or Dudley?" asked Draco smirking. Harry smirked back.

"Well," said Harry, pretending to contemplate the question. "It's a close call. They barely fit into the car to begin with. I honestly don't know how either can fit in the same room let alone the same vehicle." When Harry finished, he and Draco both started laughing at the surprised looks on everyone's faces, especially Harry and Draco's friends. They shared a look after they had calmed down. 'After this chapter,' mouthed Draco. Harry nodded. 'It's going to be very eventful after this chapter,' thought Harry before continuing.

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. "Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. "Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. "This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"Only you, mate, would compare yourself to a snake." Said Ron. Harry chuckled, nodded, and continued.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's. It winked.**

There were some confused looks but nobody questioned it.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

"Of course you wink back," Hermione muttered fondly. Harry chuckled and continued.

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. "Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor.**

More Growls.

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

"Wha'd ya do….wha'd ya do?" asked the twins bouncing excitedly. Chuckling, Harry's response was continuing reading.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

McGonagall, along with most of the hall, was surprised. "Mr. Potter," Harry looked up at his professor. "If you did this as accidental magic, why was it so difficult to do in my class?" Harry thought over the question.

"Well, professor, I'm not sure, but It is probably because I don't tend to put my full effort into classes anymore. I don't think I've put my full effort into anything besides beating Voldemort, saving the wizarding world, and chores since I was, I don't know, 5 or 6?" replied Harry. People were surprised at his explanation.

"Mr. Potter, try to work harder. I'm almost positive that if you start putting your full effort into school, you might end up being as good or possibly better then your friend Miss Granger." Harry blushed and Hermione had on her calculating face.

"You know, Harry, she's probably right." Said Hermione. Before anyone could say anymore Harry continued, thinking, 'I don't know if I can use my full potential in school, not after my Uncle Vernon's beating the last time I did better than Dudley…'Harry shuddered at the memory that resurfaced and focused on what he was reading.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come. . . . Thanksss, amigo."**

"Wow, a polite snake. What a surprise." Said Ron, chuckling. Harry shook his head fondly before continuing.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. "But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?" The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

The hall groaned. 'Why couldn't he have kept his mouth shut? Now who knows what the Dursleys will do to him?' they cursed inside their heads.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

"No meals….Drinking in front of children…" muttered Molly disapprovingly. Harry suppressed a shudder at the memory of the beating he had gotten when his uncle had gotten drunk. Pushing the memory to the back of his mind, he continued. Madam Bones kept adding more things to a list to get the Dursleys arrested and Harry out of their house.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

'He started sneaking around before he came to Hogwarts so he could _live_,' thought Snape furiously. 'I am going to kill Petunia for doing that to Lily's son just because she was jealous of Lily,'

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

Harry's friends and family, along with a few others, were sad about this but angry at the Dursleys at the same time. Harry was ghostly pale as he read something later in the chapter. People shared worried looks as Harry continued.

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family.**

Lupin and older Sirius felt slightly guilty, but a glare from Harry had them pushing the guilt away.

**Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

"Careless…"someone muttered.

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang. ****_Even the teachers didn't like him. Once when he was in first grade he asked a teacher if it was normal for an uncle to hit you, and the next day the teacher was gone and the whole school thought Harry was a crazy juvenile delinquent. He would never tell anyone that his uncle raped him. Never. It had been happening at least once a month when his uncle got drunk. The first time it happened he was 6._**

"That's the end of the chapter," said Harry. People were speechless. Then, before anyone could even blink, Harry collapsed on the floor in a flashback of his uncle raping him. The first one to react was, surprisingly, Draco. He jumped up and ran to Harry. "Harry," he said softly, touching Harry's shoulder. Harry flinched and started muttering, "Please, don't hurt me….I'll be better…please leave me alone…" Draco sighed.

"Harry," he said again. "Your uncle is not here. He will not hurt you. Calm down and open your eyes." After a few more moments of muttering on both their parts, Harry finally calmed down and slowly opened his eyes. He looked up at Draco.

"It happened again, didn't it?" Harry asked. Draco nodded. Harry groaned. "I guess we should tell them." Draco nodded. They both stood up and looked at everyone's surprised faces. "Draco and I have something to tell you." Said Harry, addressing the hall.

* * *

**Cliff-hanger! What are Draco and Harry going to tell the Hall? Review and tell me what you want them to say! Do you want them to be dating? Or just friends? Or something completely different? Whatever is said the most and works the best, will be put in my story! What did you think of Draco helping Harry come out of his flashback? **


	4. THE BREAK!

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling Does!**

**A/N: I have Harry and Draco dating, I'm sorry to anyone who does not like the couple Harry/Draco, but that is what seemed to work best in this story. Please do not quit reading the story because of that, the rest of the couple's in this story I'm planning on being cannon. Sorry for taking so long to update, I'll try to update soon! Enjoy the chapter! Read and Review!**

**THE BREAK!**

_Previously: "It happened again, didn't it?" Harry asked.. Draco nodded. Harry groaned. "I guess we should tell them." Draco nodded. They both stood up and looked at everyone's surprised faces. "Draco and I have something to tell you." Said Harry, addressing the hall._

Harry and Draco walked through the tables and stood in front of the High Table. Draco gave Harry a nod and an encouraging smile. Harry took a deep breath. "Draco and I…We're dating." Harry said. Harry and Draco looked around. Everyone was still in shock, for two reasons now. Harry and Draco shared a look. "_Three…Two…One"_ They mouthed to each other. As if on cue, it was like an explosion went off in the Great Hall. Most people were cursing out the Dursleys and some were questioning Harry and Draco about when they became friends, let alone boyfriends. Harry winced and Draco sighed.

The only ones who weren't yelling were: Fred and George, Harry, Draco, Dumbledore, Fudge, Mad-Eye, Umbridge, along with some other people here and there. Dumbledore's twinkle was gone as Snape, McGonagall, and some others yelled at him for leaving Harry in that house. Harry could hear Snape and McGonagall yelling at Dumbledore. A lot of cuss words passed through both of his Professors lips, and Harry was glad that they were towards Dumbledore and the Dursleys and not him.

One thing that caught both Harry and Draco's attention was the fact that the twins weren't yelling. They shared a quick look and walked over to the twins. All four of them shared a look, and a feeling friendship went through all of them. The twins nodded at an unspoken question from Harry and Draco and they stood up. They walked back to the front of the Great Hall, counted down from three in their heads then all four of them screamed simultaneously, "_SHUT UP!"_ Surprised, the yelling stopped and everyone turned their attention to the four standing at the front of the Great Hall.

"That's enough," said Harry. "I know it's a lot to take in, but there's no reason to be off your rockers about it. Yes, I went through horrible, un-speakable things at the hands of the Dursleys, and Yes, I'm dating Draco bloody Malfoy, but it's not a huge deal. What happened at the Dursleys is, hopefully, behind me for the rest of my life. If anyone has a problem with my relationship with Draco, then keep it to yourself, 'cause I don't care." Harry took a deep breath to calm down. "If you want to know how Draco and I became friends, we'll tell you. If you want to know how we became boyfriends, we'll tell you. Raise your hand if you would like to hear the stories of how Draco and I became friends and boyfriends." A majority of the Hall raised their hands; the one's who didn't looked interested, though. Harry and Draco shared a look and sighed. "It started in second year…" started Harry.

_Flashback_

_Harry was hiding in an alcove he had found in the dungeons, hiding from the people who were accusing him of being Slytherin's Heir. He had found it a few weeks ago when he was running from some fifth years who were chasing him, trying to curse him for opening the Chamber of Secrets. It had come in handy, though he had wished that it wasn't needed. Even though he hid in there about once a day, something different happened that day. Someone found him. That 'someone' being Draco Malfoy. Draco asked why he was hiding and Harry explained how people kept chasing him and trying to curse him. Draco sat in the alcove with him and they talked. They found out they had a lot in common. They kept meeting in the alcove, along with a few other secret places they found, for the rest of the year. _

_End Flashback_

"…And that's how we became friends." Finished Harry. A few people were speechless that people did that to Harry in Second year. Harry looked at Draco, and Draco nodded.

"As to how we became boyfriends…"Started Draco.

_Flashback_

_It was a sunny day at Hogwarts, and you could see two young men sitting in a secluded area by the lake. They were talking and laughing and if you looked closely enough you would see that the two young men were: Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, supposed rivals. They were both in the middle of there fourth years at Hogwarts and were discussing school work and the Triwizard tournament. _

"_Come on, Harry, have you figured out the Second task yet?" questioned Draco. Harry shot Draco a look._

"_Not yet, Cedric gave me a clue but I don't see how talking a bath in the Prefects bathroom is going to help me figure out an egg." Replied Harry, smirking. Draco chuckled._

"_No, I don't see it either. It might help, you never know." Said Draco. Harry shook his head, smiling._

"_So, Draco, found a girlfriend yet?" Harry teased as he laid down on the grass. Draco swatted Harry's arm before he lied down next to him._

"_Really, Harry?" asked Draco. Harry nodded, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm gay? Seriously, It gets annoying…But, what about you. Any girl catching your fancy?" Now it was Harry's turn to swat his laughing friends arm._

"_No, considering the fact that I, just like you, am gay." Said Harry. "So, rephrasing my earlier question, found a boyfriend yet?" Draco rolled his eyes._

"_No, and, following your footsteps, and boy catching your fancy?" asked Draco. _

_Harry blushed slightly and looked away. "One." Whispered Harry so low that Draco barely heard him. Draco's eyes widened slightly._

"_Who is this lucky guy?" asked Draco curiously. Harry looked Draco straight in the eyes and said one word. "You." Was all Harry said and it left Draco speechless._

"_Wow, I made Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Ice King, speechless. I'll have to remember that." Joked Harry. Draco shook himself a little to get rid of the shock, and smiled softly at the man next to him. Ina split-second Draco decided something. He kissed Harry. Harry was surprised at first but then relaxed into the kiss. When the need for air became too prominent, they pulled back, breathless._

"_I like you, too, Harry. Will you do me the pleasure of being my boyfriend?" asked Draco. Harry's face broke into a huge grin. "Yes!" was all he said before kissing Draco again._

_End Flashback_

"…And that's how we became boyfriends." Finished Draco, leaving people speechless. Draco smirked and looked at Harry who was leaning against Draco's shoulder.

The first people out of their shock were Ron and Hermione, who walked up to the front of the Great Hall. Harry straightened up and looked at his two best friends since first year. Ron was the first to speak.

"Mate, if you honestly like this git, than I'll learn to live with it." Harry nodded and smiled. He gave his first friend a quick hug and a quiet "Thank you." Harry backed up and looked at Hermione.

Hermione smiled at her friend. "Harry, I don't mind you being with Draco, and I support you, no matter what. I can see that you both genuinely like each other." Harry smiled and gave Hermione a big hug, whispering thank you's in her ear. Hermione hugged him back, smiling. They let go. "Now, don't you think you have some prior engagements for this break?" questioned Hermione. Harry nodded.

Harry knew of possibly two other people who might want to go pranking with him and the twins. Harry looked at the Gryffindor table and caught Luna's eye. She saw the question in Harry's eyes and nodded smirking. She got up and walked to the front of the Great Hall. Harry looked towards Dumbledore who understood. Dumbledore stood up and announced, "We will have a break, and I will call you back to the Great Hall either at ot before Dinner." Dumbledore nodded and the group dispersed.

Harry turned towards the twins. "Fred, George, I know at least two other people, not including me, that would love to help prank." He said smirking devilishly. He looked at the six people he was standing with. Draco, Luna, and Hermione nodded. Harry looked at Ron, who had a thinking face on.

"Don't hurt yourself, Ronnie." Said the twins. Ron glared, and sighed.

"I would love to help, it would be awesome to prank the Marauders, both new and old." Said Ron, smirking.

The twins clapped their brother on the back. "Now, that's the talking, Ron." They said. They agreed to meet at the next break in the ROR to discuss prank ideas. Before they went their separate ways, Harry said, "When the book starts mentioning quidditch, let's pretend that I suck at quidditch and don't have any interest in it. It will give my dad and younger Sirius a heart attack, but it will be hilarious." Everyone nodded their agreement and Draco and Harry went in search of Tonks, who they found wandering in the hallways.

"Hey, Tonks, wait up." Said Harry. Tonks stopped and turned around, seeing Harry and Draco hurrying to catch up.

"Do you want to test us to see if we are Metamorphagus's, or part-Metamorphagus's?" inquired Draco. Tonks smiled and nodded. They found an abandoned classroom and Tonks tested them. By the time they left, Harry had black hair to his shoulders and Draco had pink hair in a ponytail. Tonks smiled at the two boys. "You are both part-Metamorphagus's, but I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of you turned out to be a full Metamorphagus." The boys nodded and left. Draco changed his back, and Harry changed his hair back to its normal color but kept the length, just put it in a pony tail.

"I like your hair like that," said Draco, smiling. Harry smiled back.

"I do, too. Now, I need to go to the Hospital Wing or Madam Pomfrey will tan my hide. Do you want to come with?" asked Harry. Draco nodded and they headed up to the Hospital Wing. When they got there, Madam Pomfrey rushed Harry to a bed and started a diagnostic test. Poppy got more worried the longer the list got. Draco held Harry's hand tightly, waiting for the list to end. After 7 minutes, the list stopped, being 3 ½ feet long. Poppy read the list, getting angrier every second. "If Dumbledore sends Harry back to those people…"muttered Poppy angrily. She fire-called Dumbledore and asked him to come up here, along with Snape, McGonagall, Molly, Arthur, and the twins, who would have showed up anyway. Five minutes later, the seven people she requested showed up. The twins were the first people to start reading the list, with their parents reading over their shoulders. The four Weasleys were extremely angry, and the twins hurried over to Harry and have him another bone-crushing hug, which Harry returned. Molly gave Harry a hug and kiss on the cheek and Arthur patted his shoulder. McGonagall and Snape fumed and Dumbledore lost his twinkle. This is what the list said:

**Diagnostic Results for Harry James Potter**

**Head: Multiple concussions, minor bruising. Causes: Frying pan, and being continuously thrown and hit in the head, and once fell/pushed out of a tree.**

**Chest: Multiple ribs broken/fractured, one rib currently broken, bruising, lung and stomach damage, three ribs bruised/fractured. Causes: Continuous beatings, being fed damaging chemicals, falling/being pushed out of a tree, falling/pushed down stairs.**

**Arms/hands: Broken multiple times, right wrist fractured, fingers each broke at least once, past second/third degree burns on both hands, left hand had second-degree burns, right bicep fractured, left tricep broken. Cause: Continuous beatings, stove burner, quidditch (once), being steeped on, run over (bike, on one occasion car), fell/pushed out of a tree.**

**Legs/feet: Broken multiple times, left ankle broken, each foot broken in multiple places at least once, right knee fractured. Cause: Continuous beatings, being rin over, steeped on, thrown, pushed down stairs.**

**Others: Continuous tearing at the anus, multiple bruising over the whole body, starvation. Cause: rape, beatings, and being withheld of food for long periods of time.**

**Notes: Only time to the hospital in his life is at Hogwarts and before he was left in the care of the Dursleys.**

Draco read over the list and was furious at what those things (He no longer considered the Dursleys people) did to his boyfriend. Snape looked absolutely furious.

"Dumbledore, if you ever, and I mean ever, even think of sending Harry back to those…those abominations, I will kidnap Harry and take him in myself!" said Snape furiously, much to the surprise of some. Harry smiled slightly at his Potions Professor as Poppy mended everything. Harry was surprised when Snape returned the smile, though Harry was pretty sure he was the only one who noticed.

When Poppy finished and said Harry could go, Harry caught up with his Potions Professor, Draco trailing behind. "Sir, did you really mean what you've been saying since the beginning of the reading?" questioned Harry. They stopped and Snape looked Harry directly in the eyes before he answered.

"Yes, Harry, I meant every word." He said, his eyes showing genuine honesty and concern. Harry smiled.

"Well, Professor, I would take you up on the offer of living with you, unless you would wish me to find someone more suitable?Sirius, Remus, or the Weasleys, perhaps?" Inquired Harry, smirking.

"I'll consider it, but for now we should go to the Great Hall, dinner is about to start." And with that, the three gentlemen made their way to the Great Hall and enjoyed dinner. Since they were going to be reading for awhile, Dumbledore had transformed the house tables into chairs, couches, and beanbags. Once everyone finished and was comfortable, Dumbledore stood.

"I think we have time for one or two more chapters before we dismiss to go to bed. Who would like to read the next chapter?" inquired Dumbledore. Hermione raised her hand.

"I will, Professor," said Hermione. Dumbledore nodded and levitated the book to Hermione. Hermione opened the book to the correct page and read, "**Chapter Three, Letters From No-One,"**


	5. Letters From No-One

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling Does.**

**A/N: FINISHED THE NEXT CHAPTER! Happy Easter! Enjoy the chapter! Read and Review!**

"**Letters From No-One,"** read Hermione.

"Hogwarts letter?" asked Lily. Harry nodded.

"Why does it say "letters" instead of "letter"?" asked James, confused.

"You'll see," is all Harry said.

**The Escape of the Brazilian Boa Constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

You could hear people muttering "Poor Mrs. Figg," or "Poor Arabella," but there was a considerable amount of people who seemed to be trying to set the book on fire with their glares. These people consisted of: Both Remus's, Both Sirius's, Lily, James, All the Weasleys (including Percy, who is now at the Gryffindor table after apologizing for being an idiot), Hermione, Draco, McGonagall, Snape, Alicia, Katie, Angelina, Luna, and Neville, along with a few others. It was Snape who asked the question that was causing this anger.

"And when, may I ask, is your cousin's birthday, Mr. Potter?" inquired Snape. Harry fidgeted in his seat. Harry looked around at the expectant and encouraging stares. He sighed.

"March 1st," he muttered, causing there to be an outbreak of cursing toward the Dursleys. Harry sighed and leaned against Draco.

"You were locked in a cupboard for almost 3 months?!" screeched Hermione. Harry nodded.

"Can we just continue with the chapter?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded and continued, though she, along with many others, were still fuming.

**Harry was glad school was over, but their was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Peirs, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and the stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**

"Amazing Logic…"said the twins. Harry nodded.

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

"I'll explain it later, at the next break." Said Harry. The people who were about to question what "Harry Hunting" was, nodded.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to Secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted to Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand was going to**

"HOGWARTS!" was heard in throughout the Hall. Harry laughed.

"I didn't know Hogwarts existed yet," Harry said, chuckling.

**Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley** **thought this was very funny. "They stuff people's heads down toilets the first day at Stonewall," He told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

Lupin and Sirius growled. Harry just shook his head at their protectiveness.

**"No, thanks." said Harry. "The poor toilets never had anything as horrible as your head down it-it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley** **could figure out what he'd said.**

The twins, Luna, James, and both Sirius's were on the floor laughing. Harry shook his head at them. Draco chuckled and whispered in Harry's ear. "Very Slytherin of you, Potter," Harry smirked. He turned around and whispered, "You have no idea." Leaving Draco very confused. Chuckling, Harry told Hermione to continue.

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley** **to London** **to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaning Harry behind at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping on one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

"That poor chocolate…"said both Remus's, much to the amusement of their friends. Harry smirked and a second later both Remus's had chocolate in front of them. "THANK YOU!" they yelled before munching happily on their chocolate, causing laughter to break out in the Hall. Chuckling, Hermione continued.

**That evening, Dudley** **paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

The more fashion-esque people in the hall were slightly disgusted with the Smeltings uniform. Indeed, Lavender looked like she was gonna hurl.

"How is hitting people with a stick good training for later life?" inquired Snape, slightly furious.

"Well, Professor, we are trained to use a wand, which is, in a way, a stick as well. And we can do a lot worse with our "sticks" than Smeltings' boys can with their "sticks". Think about it, we are trained to use our wands/sticks to do multiple things, including stuff like pulling pranks, minorly or majorly hurting yourself or someone else. You can use our wand/stick to read people's minds, control them, torture them, kill them, along with many other things that would seem impossible to do with a small piece of wood. Yes, we can do some harmless stuff with our wand/stick and some helpful things, but we can still do stuff a lot worse than a Smeltings' boy could with a knobbly stick that they carry around all day." Finished Harry, surprising a lot of people. Most of the teachers, along with some older students (and Hermione), were surprised at Harry's mini-speech. They didn't know he was he would be able to explain that. After thinking it over, and agreeing with Harry, Hermione continued.

**As he looked at Dudley** **in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment in his life.**

"Not a lot of proud moments, then." Said Luna. Harry smirked.

"Nope," he said.

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up.**

People laughed and the twins, though laughing as well, silently vowed never to use the nickname "Ickle Ronniekins" ever again, never wanting to have something in common with the monsters that hurt Harry.

**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

Harry didn't restrain himself now, laughing over the memory of his cousin in that ridiculous outfit.

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water. "What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

"How dare you, Harry!" said Forge.

"NO Questions Allowed!" said Gred.

Gred and Forge tsked Harry. Harry had the decency to look ashamed, though he was trying not to laugh.

"I'll be better next time," Harry said, his head down to hide his smile. '_Three..Two..One'_ thought Harry, before He, Gred, and Forge started laughing. After they calmed down, Hermione continued, smiling at her friends' antics.

**"Your new uniform," she said. Harry looked in the bowl again. "Oh," he said. "I didn't realize it had to be so wet." "Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you, It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished." Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue.**

"You? Not arguing? What has this world come to?" asked Snape, sarcastically, surprising some people.

"You? Joking around? Yes, What has this world come to?" replied Harry, just as sarcastic. Snape smirked.

"Touché," Snape said before Hermione continued.

**He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall-like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

Draco imagined that and burst out laughing at the mental image. Harry looked back at his boyfriend like he was crazy. "Imagine it," was all Draco said. And soon Harry, along with some other people, was laughing as well. Hermione continued when everyone had calmed down.

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley** **banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat. "Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper. "Make Harry get it." "Get the mail, Harry." "Make Dudley** **get it." "Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley." Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail.**

People shook their head at their stupidity, having momentarily thought that the tub of lard was actually gonna do something.

"At least you dodged it," sighed Hermione before continuing.

**Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and-a letter for Harry. Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like an elastic band.**

"Your heart does interesting things, Harry." Said Luna dreamily.

"Yes, I suppose it does, doesn't it?" replied Harry smiling. Luna beamed at him.

**No one, ever in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives-he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back.**

This saddened some and confused others.

"I could have sworn that I saw both Ginny and Ron send you letters multiple times before you met…" said Molly. Harry looked confusedly over at the Headmaster.

"All your letters had been redirected to a vault in Gringotts, you can pick it up after the reading." Said Dumbledore. Harry nodded.

"Just one thing before you continue, 'Mione. Okay, raise your hand if you ever sent me a letter before I came to Hogwarts. Be honest," Harry gaped when he saw over half the hall raise their hands, including some Slytherins and adults. Harry shook his head and laughed when he saw his boyfriend sheepishly raising his hand. Harry motioned for Hermione to continue.

**Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**  
_**Mr. H. Potter**_**  
**_**The Cupboard under the Stairs**_**  
**_**4 Privet Drive**_**  
**_**Little Whinging**_**  
**_**Surrey**_

"How did you not notice?" asked Harry, curious.

"Self-addressing quills." Replied McGonagall.

"You should probably have a teacher or a house-elf look over the letters before they are sent, to make sure that they are in a good living environment." Said Harry. McGonagall nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind over the summer." Said McGonagall before Hermione continued.

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.**

Each house cheered when their house was mentioned, and Harry cheered for all four. All the students, plus some adults cheered, "HOGWARTS!" at the end.

**"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen.**

Draco tightened his hold on Harry, hoping to keep him from going into another flashback. Harry smiled at Draco gratefully.

**"What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

"Harry, wasn't that joke just to die for?" asked Gred, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

"Oh, of course Gred. What did you think, Forge?" inquired Harry.

"Oh, yes, It was so funny I forgot to laugh." Said Forge, his face expressionless. In a blink of an eye, they burst out laughing, again, some people joining them.

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. "Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk..." "Dad!" said Dudley** **suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!" Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written in the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon. "That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back. "Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within second it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

Some people silently vowed to never eat porridge again and Harry, Draco and Tonks thought it would be funny to demonstrate Vernon's face. This caused people to burst out laughing, Tonks, Draco, and Harry included. Once their faces were back to normal, Hermione continued.

**"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped. Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment she looked like she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise. "Vernon! Oh my goodness—Vernon!"**

"Drama Queen," was muttered throughout the Hall, Harry nodding his agreement.

**They stared t each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley** **wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smeltings stick. "I want to read that letter," he said loudly. "I want to read it," said Harry furiously "as it's mine." "Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. Harry didn't move. "I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

Gred and Forge shared a look. "Harry, Harry, Harry…"said Gred.

"Temper, Temper, Temper…"scolded Forge.

"What are we to do with you?" they questioned together.

Harry put on a contemplative face. "Oh, I don't know," he said, sounding troubled. "Any ideas Draco?" he asked looking at his boyfriend.

"No, I'm coming up blank." Replied Draco. Harry nodded.

"How about, we try not to get him mad?" said Hermione. "Seriously, here's a word of advice. When Harry is angry, it is not pretty and he has a big set of lungs. If you've ever heard either Molly, Lily, or Sirius's mother yell, Put all three together and voila, that's how loud Harry can yell." Some people's mouths opened in shock. Harry shrugged sheepishly.

"It's true." Said Ron, the twins, and Ginny, having heard him at Grimwald Place. Hermione nodded and continued.

**"Let me see it!" demanded Dudley. "OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**

"YES!" Forge yelled in victory. "Hand it over, Gred." He said smiling victoriously. Gred mumbled something incoherent, and handed Forge 6 sickles.

Harry smirked. "Next time, Gred, if you bet Forge that I'll win against a baby whale that three-four times larger than me, consider the fact that he could crush me. I'm still thankful he never sat on me…" Harry added the last part under his breath, causing Draco to chuckle, having been the only one who heard it. "Also, being on the floor is a much better way to spy on conversations, because then you can see the feet moving towards you before they open the door, giving you more time to hide. It's essential in spying to be quick, smart, and at least somewhat agile. Keep that in mind." The twins nodded and Hermione continued.

**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address-how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?" "Watching-spying-might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly. "But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want-" Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen. "No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore they don't get an answer...Yes, that's best...we don't do anything..." "But-" I'm not having one in the house Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

The book started smoking in Hermione's hands at the intensity of the glare, causing her to drop the book. Harry sighed and cast a silent 'Protego' on the book, causing it to quick smoking. Some people were surprised that Harry could cast silent, wandless magic, but didn't question it. You could see some people's rage in their expressions, but no-one looked as angry as Dumbledore was at the last sentence. One thought went through his mind, 'Ariana,' Hermione continued.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard. "Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?" "No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it." "It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily. "it had my cupboard on it." "SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful. "Er-yes, Harry-about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking...you're really getting a bit big for it...we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."**

"THAT TUB OF LARD HAD TWO F***ING BEDROOMS AND YOU SLEPT IN A GOD D***ED CUPDOARD!" Screeched Lily, Molly, Luna, Hermione, McGonagall, Poppy, and the Gryff chasers in unison. Harry nodded, unconsciously leaning closer to Draco because of how loud they were. Draco gave Harry a quick hug, guessing what was going through Harry's mind. The enraged women calmed down enough for Hermione to continue.

**"Why?" said Harry. "Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now." The Dursley's had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley** **slept, and one where Dudley** **kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom.**

"THEY HAD FOUR F***ING BEDROOMS!" Screamed the same 9 women as before. People were still shocked at their language. Harry sighed. He was gonna go into a flashback if they kept yelling like this.

"'Mione, please continue before all 9 of you lose your heads over something that happened about 5 years ago." Said Harry as calm as he could. Hermione looked over at her friend, nodded, and continued.

**It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The three month-old video camera was laying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor;s dog; in the corner was Dudley's first ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with one end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

Hermione, Lily, and some Ravenclaws looked horrified, causing their friends to chuckle.

**rom downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't want him in there...I need that room...make him get out..." Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it. Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley** **was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smeltings stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. Harry was thinking at about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly. When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley** **go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smeltings stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive-"**

"Wait, if he wanted to read it, why did he yell that their was another one?" asked Alicia.

"Well, for one, he was stupid, and two, he can barely read." Replied Harry, smirking at his teammate. Alicia nodded.

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley** **to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind.**

Hermione and Ron shared an incredulous look. They looked at Harry and said in unison, "Really Harry? Is that your go-to way of trying to defeat something a lot bigger than you?" Harry shrugged sheepishly.

"I don't know, but at least I had at least a little practice. If I hadn't who knows what could have happened!?" replied Harry, laughing with his friends. People looked at the trio like they were crazy, but Hermione just ignored them and continued.

**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand. "Go to your cupboard-I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley-go-just go." Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

Hermione and Ron groaned. "What?" asked Harry.

"Sorry, mate, but your plans suck," replied Ron. Harry did the mature thing and stuck his tong out at his friends.

"I know they do. They've gotten better, but I guess I'm more the guy who plans, gets there, all hell breaks loose, I make something up, and we usually win." Replied Harry, some people nodding in agreement. Ron and Hermione chuckled and Hermione continued.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock** **the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights. He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive** **and get the letters for number four first. His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door-"AAAAARRRGH!" Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat-something alive! Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do.**

"See? Your plans suck." Said Ron.

"I said that I realized that, Ron, but at least I got to step on my Uncle's face." Said Harry smirking.

"True," said Ron.

**He shouted at Harry for half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could three letters addressed in green ink. "I want-" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces right before his eyes. Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot "See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up." "I'm not sure that will work, Vernon." "Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with a piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just given him.**

"How, exactly, do you nail a mail slot with a piece of fruitcake as a hammer?" inquired Hermione.

"Well, 'Mione, My aunt can't cook to save her life. That's why she makes me cook, 'cause she can't. I still have no clue what they eat when I'm not there. I'm honestly glad we aren't like my Aunt and Uncle, though," he added the last bit as an afterthought, though many nodded their agreement. Hermione nodded.

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom. Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

"Paranoid," coughed the twins.

"You have no idea," replied Harry, smirking.

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry had found their into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor. "Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley** **asked Harry in amazement.**

"HOGWARTS!" cheered the twins.

"Along with about half the people here…"muttered Harry under his breath, causing Draco to chuckle.

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy. "No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers,**

"Isn't that, um…I don't know…kind of…odd?" questioned Draco.

"Yeah, but my Uncle had gone slightly more crazy than he already was, so I'm not sure if he noticed what he was doing, to be honest," replied Harry. Draco nodded.

**"no damn letters today-" Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimneys he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the chimney like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry jumped into the air and tried to catch one-"Out! OUT!" Uncle Vernon seized Harry by the waist and threw him into the hall. When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters till streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor. "That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling out great tufts of his mustache at the same time. "I want back in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!" He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

"Really?" asked Ron incredulous.

"Really," replied Harry. "He's…Dudley; he watches television, plays games on the computer, and eats like it's breathing." Ron nodded.

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. "Shake 'em off...shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

"It's not gonna work!" sand the twins, causing laughter to break out in the Hall.

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley** **was howling. He'd never had such a bad day. He was hungry, he's missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

"Welcome to my/Harry's life Dudley/Big D," said Harry and the twins together.

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering...**

"What were you wondering?" asked Neville.

"I was thinking about the letter. I was trying to figure out who was sending me it and why they were sending me it," explained Harry. Neville nodded.

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table. "'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk." She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

_**Mr. H. Potter**_**  
**_**Room 17**_**  
**_**Railview Hotel**_**  
**_**Cokeworth**_

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared. "I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room. "Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of the forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. Tee same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage. "Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley** **asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**

"Dudley, I hate to break it to you, but Daddy went mad a long time ago," said Harry as if he was talking to a young child. Some people laughed.

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared. It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley** **sniveled. "It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television." Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday-and you could usually count on Dudley** **to know the days of the week, because of television-then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday.**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!" cheered Harry's friends, family, some adults, and, to his annoyance, Draco.

"Really, Draco?" muttered Harry under his breath.

"Yep!" said Draco in Harry's ear. Harry shook his head fondly.

"You guys do realize that this was, like, five years ago, right?" questioned Harry.

"YEP!" they responded in unison. Harry shook his head and Hermione continued.

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun-last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. Still, you weren't eleven every day. Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought. "Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!" It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there. "Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!" A toothless old man came ambling out to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them. "I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!" It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding led the way to the broken-down house. The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fire place was damp and empty. There were only two rooms. Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas.**

"Those are NOT rations!" screamed Poppy furiously. "That is not even a meal! And do NOT even get me started on what you had you were given for breakfast! That was NOT a satisfactorily breakfast…."she continued to mutter about not getting enough food and proper food rations.

**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up. "Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully. He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**

Hermione smiled fondly. "Oh, Harry, our favorite pessimist," she said fondly. Harry glared.

"I am not a pessimist," he muttered.

"You kinda are, Harry," whispered Draco in his ear.

"Oh, shush you," said Harry, swatting his boyfriends arm.

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley** **on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

Poppy began muttering again, this time about colds, unsafe houses and proper sleeping arrangement. Some people, teen and adults, joined Poppy this time, also muttering about harming the Dursleys, though they were mostly female. People glared at the book again with such intensity that Harry was glad that he had cast a protego on the book.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger.**

Before Harry could even blink, a plate full of food and what appeared to be a vial of nourishment potion. Harry glanced up at Poppy who was giving his an intense stare that clearly said, 'Eat it,' Harry looked around and noticed that many of his friends/family, along with some others, were doing the same thing. Sighing in defeat, especially when he saw how his boyfriend was looking at him, Harry drank the potion and ate the food. After he finished, the plate and vial disappeared and Hermione continued.

**Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry that he'd be eleven in ten minutes time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now. Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped he roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.**

"Pessimist!" sand Hermione. Harry glared. "You know it's true," she said. Harry sighed and Hermione laughed in victory. She continued.

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive** **would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow. Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was that rock crumbling into the sea? One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds...twenty...ten...nine-maybe he'd wake Dudley** **up, just to annoy him-**

"DO IT! DO IT!" cheered the twins. After people looked at Harry's face people unconsciously scooted away because of a devilish smirk on his face.

**-three...two...one...BOOM!**

People jumped in shock. Harry had been anticipating the 'one' cause he knew what would come right after it. Both Remus's and Sirius's were thankful that Harry had silently told them to hold their ears when they heard the 'one'. Draco rubbed his ears.

"Did you have to yell right in my ear?" asked Draco incredulously.

"Yep!" said Harry cheerfully. People glared at him but he just smiled like a Cheshire cat.

Some people laughed. "Sheesh, they weren't kidding. You do have a big set of lungs, Harry." Said James. "I think you yell louder than my Lily-flower here." Lily hit James on the arm and said, "Shush you." Causing James to smile.

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"Who?" Lily asked, worried.

"It doesn't say, the chapter is over." Replied Hermione, setting the book down.

"Don't worry mom, it's nothing dangerous." Said Harry, slightly calming Lily down. "Okay, I think Hagrid should read next." Hagrid nodded and Harry levitated the book to him.

"Headmaster, when is the next break?" asked Hermione, curious as to what 'Harry Hunting' was.

"After the next one or two chapters, Miss Granger," replied Dumbledore. Hermione nodded.

When Hagrid got the book and had it open to the right page, he smiled at the title.

"**Chapter Four, Keeper of The Keys,"** read Hagrid, still smiling.

* * *

**When Should I have the next break? After the next chapter? Or the one after it? Review and let me know!**


	6. The Keeper of The Keys

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling Does.**

**A/N: Finished next chapter! Read and Review!**

**Keeper of The Keys**

**"Keeper of The Keys," **read Hagrid, smiling.

"Isn't that you?" Alicia asked Hagrid. Hagrid, still smiling, nodded.

Harry was anticipating this chapter. He loved to scare people. '_I should probably tell Remus and Sirius, both of them…' _thought Harry before doing just that. They smiled their thanks.

**BOOM.**

People jumped and glared at Harry. Harry and Hagrid yelling together was not good on people's hearing. Harry nodded to both Sirius's and Remus's who uncovered their ears.

**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.  
"Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

"When doesn't he speak stupidly?" The twins asked Harry.  
"Honestly? I have no idea." Replied Harry before Hagrid continued.

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands—**

"HE BROUGHT A GUN!" yelled Hermione, Lily and Molly together. Harry rolled his eyes.  
"Yes, he brought a gun. But keep in mind that this was over four years ago and that problem is dealt with fairly quickly." Replied Harry. The three that yelled nodded and Hagrid continued.

**Now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them. "Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!"**

**There was a pause. Then —**

**SMASH!**

People jumped again and glared at Harry, who was smiling. Both Sirius's and Remus's uncovered their ears, again, glad that Harry told them to cover their ears.

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

"Hagrid!" yelled the pranksters.

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

**"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…"**

"Hagrid…"said some of the females fondly. Hagrid blushed and continued.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."**

"First time I heard that, most certainly not the last," said Harry. A few people chuckled and Hagrid continued.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

**"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

"Go Hagrid!" cheered the twins.

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

**"Anyway — Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with ****_Happy Birthday Harry _****written on it in green icing.**

"That was nice," said Hermione, smiling.  
"It actually tasted pretty good," said Harry, thinking about it. Anyone who had had Hagrid's cooking was surprised. Hagrid continued.

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"Manners, Harry." Reprimanded Hermione.  
"'Mione, when someone who is over twice yours size barges into your house, breaks you door, gives you a birthday cake and claims to know you, give me a call and tell me how you reacted," retorted Harry. Hermione smiled sheepishly at her friend, causing Harry to chuckle.

**The giant chuckled.**

**"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

**"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

"Hagrid," reprimanded McGonagall. Hagrid shrugged sheepishly before continuing.

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

People smiled at this, but some smiled faded when they saw Umbridge's face. It was evilly gleeful, causing some first years to unconsciously scoot away. Just as Umbridge was about to say something to Fudge, Dumbledore interrupted her.  
"Delores, Hagrid had special permission to use magic when he got Harry. Also, Hagrid has been proven innocent, so he has permission to use magic at any time. He can't be arrested if he did nothing wrong," finished Dumbledore, his twinkle in his eye at full force. Her face deflated and she slumped in her seat, causing some laughing to break out before Hagrid continued.

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

"He's fat enough as it is," said Ron, chuckling. Harry nodded.

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

**"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."**

"Go Hagrid," cheered the twins again.

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course.**

"I didn't know magic existed till then…" muttered Harry under his breath. Draco pulled him a little closer since he was the only one that heard. Sighing, Harry leaned against his boyfriend, putting his head on his shoulder.

**"Er — no," said Harry.**

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

**"Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

"Why did you apologize?" asked Ginny, curious.  
"I was used to being blamed for everything, it was kind of a reflex." Replied Harry. Draco pulled him closer for a second. Some people were sad when Harry said that. Ginny got up and gave Harry a small hug, which he returned.  
"I'm not mad that your dating Draco. I'll always love you, but you are my big brother," whispered Ginny in Harry's ear. Harry gave her q quick squeeze and whispered, "Thank you," in her ear. She just smiled and sat down next to them.  
Harry was relieved Ginny wasn't mad at him. He didn't know it was worrying him till then. He was glad he still had his little sister.  
"What was that about?" whispered Draco in Harry's ear.  
"Ginny isn't mad I'm with you, and she's still my sister," Harry whispered back. Draco gave him a quick squeeze and they turned back to the book.

**"****_Sorry_****?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"**

**"All what?" asked Harry.**

**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy — this boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?"**

"That could have been worded better…"said the twins.  
"Yeah, probably," replied Harry, thinking of what he thought and said after that.

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

"**I know ****_some _****things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About ****_our _****world, I mean. ****_Your _****world. ****_My _****world. ****_Yer parents' world_****."**

"**What world?"**

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

"**DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

"**But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're ****_famous_****. You're ****_famous_****."**

Harry growled at the mention of his fame.

"**What? My — my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

"**Yeh don' know… yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

"**Yeh don' know what yeh ****_are_****?" he said finally.**

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

"**Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

"He can't boss Hagrid around," said the twins.  
"No, he most defiantly can not," replied Harry, smirking.

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

"**You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

"**Kept ****_what _****from me?" said Harry eagerly.**

"**STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

"**Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry — yer a wizard."**

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

"**I'm a ****_what_****?" gasped Harry.**

"Nice reaction," chuckled the twins. Harry untangled himself from his boyfriend long enough to swat his surrogate brothers on the arm. After he was comfortably snuggling with his boyfriend again, he was still glaring at the twins. People chuckled at the twins terrified looks, not sure if they were faking or not. Hagrid continued.

"**A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

"Finally," cheered the twins. Harry smirked and the twins sighed silent breaths of relief, Harry wasn't glaring anymore.

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to ****_Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. _****He pulled out the letter and read:**

**_HOGWARTSSCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_**

**_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_**

**_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_**

**_Dear Mr. Potter,_**

**_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at HogwartsSchool of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._**

**_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._**

**_Yours sincerely,_**

**_Minerva McGonagall,_**

**_Deputy Headmistress_**

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

"That was your first question?" snickered the twins.  
"In my defense, It was the last thing I read and there was also the fact that they 'awaited my owl' by that day and I had no clue what they meant," retorted Harry. The twins put their hands up in surrender and Hagrid continued.

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl — a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

**_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_**

**_Given Harry his letter._**

**_Taking him to buy his things tomorrow._**

**_Weather's horrible. Hope you're well._**

**_Hagrid_**

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

"It is," replied the twins.  
"You can read his handwriting upside down? I can barely read it right-side up!" said Dumbledore, chuckling. Harry smiled and snuggled more into his boyfriend, glad that he and Draco didn't have to hide anymore.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

Some people chuckled.

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

**"He's not going," he said.**

**Hagrid grunted.**

**"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**

**"A what?" said Harry, interested.**

**"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

"Both figuratively and literally," said the twins, chuckling. Harry nodded.

"**We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

People growled. Dumbledore's eyes flashed, thinking of Ariana again.

"**You ****_knew_****?" said Harry. "You ****_knew _****I'm a — a wizard?"**

"**Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "****_Knew_****! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that ****_school _****— and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

"They should be," said Snape, furious at Petunia's behavior.

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

"Probably has," muttered Harry and Snape at the same time.

**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —****_abnormal _****— and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

"That's how you found out?" asked Hermione, horrified. Several people had identical looks on their faces. Harry silently nodded, caught in memories. Draco whispered into Harry's ears until he was brought out of his memories. Harry sent Draco a silent 'Thank you' and turned around just before he had a lot of bushy brown hair in his face. Chuckling, Harry hugged his friend back. When she pulled away, they both were smiling. Hermione sat down next to Ginny and Hagrid continued.

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"**

"I agree," said the Twins, who had gotten up and were sitting on Harry and Draco's other side and Ron next to Hermione and Ginny.

**"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

"That would have been something. Me going to Hogwarts and finding people gawking at me for some unknown reason and walking around confused until someone told me my own story," said Harry, smirking. Some of the people who heard him were chuckling.

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…"**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows —"**

**"Who?"**

**"Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

**"Why not?"**

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…"**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

**"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

**"Nah — can't spell it. All right —****_Voldemort_****. "**

People sent Harry surprised looks. "You actually got him to say it? You can really do the impossible," said Snape, surprising some. Harry just smirked.  
"It is one of my many talents." Retorted Harry.  
"Oh, yeah. What are your other 'talents'?" inquired Snape.  
"Well, I'm a decent flier, nowhere near as good as Draco here, though." At this some people sent him strange looks but Harry's glare told them to go with it and to not say otherwise until he does. "I've defeated Voldemort a few times. Um…I can do stupidly brave things. Um…I can read Hagrid's handwriting upside down. I can survive the killing curse. Um…I can't think of anything else, but I'm pretty sure there's more." Snape nodded, chuckling. Harry chuckled and motioned for Hagrid to continue.

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

**"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

**"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —"**

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find — anywa…**

**"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts — an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

"It was a miracle," said Molly, looking fondly at her surrogate son.  
Harry blushed and Hagrid continued.

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

"You remember that?" asked Ginny, horrified. Harry nodded.

"A lot more, now." Said Harry, sighing as he leaned against Draco. Ginny squeezed Harry's hand and Harry squeezed back, smiling lightly.

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

"**Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot… ."**

"That was a mistake," muttered Harry.

"**Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

"**Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured**

People growled, knowing how true that statement was. Harry closed his eyes, trying his hardest not to go into a flashback. Harry knew he was failing when he was pulled into one. Draco pulled Harry close when he noticed he went slightly limp. "Harry," muttered Draco. "Please wake up. He's not here. He can't hurt you. Please, wake up…"he whispered. H continued to whisper soothingly in Harry's ear until he woke up. "Thanks, Draco." Said Harry, pecking his boyfriend on the cheek causing Ron to groan. Hermione swatted his arm and Hagrid continued.

— **and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion — asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end —"**

People growled and a window broke. Draco sheepishly fixed it. Harry chuckled at Draco's actions and Hagrid continued.

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word…"**

"Do it, Do it!" cheered the twins.

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

"Oh, damn," muttered the twins. Only Harry and Draco heard, and they snorted at the twin's reaction.

**"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

**"But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

"You said 'You-Know-Who'," said Ron, disbelievingly. Harry snorted.

"And, how long did that last?" questioned Harry. Ron shrugged sheepishly.

**"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see… he was gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go?**

**"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**

**"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — ****_I _****dunno what it was, no one does — but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

"Sadly, it doesn't work like that, little brother." Said the twins.

"I know that now. I was just introduced to the wizarding world and you expect me to know everything about it," Harry said, exasperated. The twins just shrugged, smirking.

**"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."**

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

**"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it… every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry… chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach… dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back… and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

"That was amazing," said the twins, thinking back on when it was first mentioned in the book. Harry chuckled.

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

**"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

**"Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —"**

**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled—"**

**"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

The twins unconsciously leaned forward.

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!"**

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

"Amazing," breathed the twins. Harry chuckled.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

Laughter erupted at this. "Well, it's true," agreed Harry, chuckling. This caused more laughing. When everyone calmed down, Hagrid continued.

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job."**

**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

**"Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."**

**"Why were you expelled?"**

"He won't tell you," sang the Marauders. Then they saw the look on the Golden Trios faces. "No way," James said. Harry nodded. "When did you find out?"

"Second year." Was all Harry said.

**"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

**"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' doormice in one o' the pockets."**

"Eww!" screeched some girls. Harry rolled his eyes.

"That's the end 'a the chapter," said Hagrid.

"Who would like to read next?" asked Dumbledore.

"Can I see the book, Hagrid?" asked Harry. Hagrid nodded and Harry levitated the book to himself. He opened the book and smirked at the title of the next chapter. "I think Draco here should read this chapter," he said with a devilish smirk on his face. Draco looked curiously at his boyfriend but took the book nonetheless. After he opened the book to the correct page and reading the title he groaned causing Harry to chuckle.

**"Chapter Five, Diagon Alley,"** read Draco.


	7. Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer:** I Do Not Own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling Does!  
**A/N: **Sorry for the wait. I'd like to thank Witch Priestess typing up the actual chapter 'Diagon Alley' from the book. Read and Review!

**Chapter Five, Diagon Alley**

**"Chapter Five, Diagon Alley,"** read Draco, glaring at his boyfriend. Harry just looked innocently over at his boyfriend, though the amusement in his eyes wasn't hidden. Draco just shook his head at Harry's antics. Harry cuddled closer to Draco, causing him to chuckle. Harry just pointed to the book and Draco finally started to read.

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.  
"It was a dream," he told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."**

People shook their heads sadly at Harry's pessimism. Hermione sent Harry a look which Harry pointedly ignored. Harry looked towards Luna and their eyes met. They smiled at each other, both knowing something important was coming after this chapter.

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.  
And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

Harry heard something that suspiciously sounded like 'Pessimist' coming from Hermione's direction, which he chose to ignore.

**Tap. Tap. Tap.  
"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."  
He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.  
Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him.**

Luna looked at Harry, before moving closer and examining Harry's chest, soon joined by the twins. After a while they sat back down, though they are now closer then the others. Harry, Luna and the twins shared a look before saying, "No Balloon," causing people to laugh though they all had serious expressions on their face.

**He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.  
"Don't do that."  
Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.  
"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl -"  
"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.  
"What?"  
"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets - bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags... finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.  
"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.  
"Knuts?"  
"The little bronze ones."  
Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.  
Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.  
"Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."  
Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

Luna, Fred and George looked crestfallen. "Not the Happy Balloon!" they chorused together. Harry nodded solemnly before Draco continued, amusement in his eyes as he read.

**"Um - Hagrid?"  
"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.  
"I haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**

Quite a few incredulous looks were sent Harry's way. Harry just shrugged sheepishly, smiling.

**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"  
"But if their house was destroyed -"  
"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy!**

Harry flinched slightly, taking a deep breathe. Draco pulled him in tighter before continuing.

**Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."  
"Wizards have banks?"  
"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins." Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.  
"Goblins?"**

"No, Young Harry, it's run by centaurs." said the twins seriously. Harry nodded in understanding.

**"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see. Got everythin'? Come on, then."  
Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.  
"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.  
"Flew," said Hagrid.**

"_Flew?"_ asked the twins in awe, staring at Hagrid. Hagrid nodded.

**_"Flew?"_**

The twins and Harry chuckled.

**"Yeah - but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."  
They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.  
"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"  
"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.  
"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.  
"Spells - enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way - Gringotts is hundreds of miles under ****London****, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."**

Harry's friends started whispering together, causing Harry to raise an eyebrow to the twins and Luna in question. In answer Luna handed Harry a piece of Parchment that read:  
**Betting Poll of whether or not Harry will rob Gringotts in the story or real life:  
Yes No  
**Luna, Fred, George, Draco, Hermione, Ron, Neville,  
Ginny, James, & Sirius (both) Lily, & Remus (both)  
**Bets:** 5 galleons per person, each winner gets an even share of the profit. Winners chose the fate of the Losers at the end of the bet.  
**Money so Far: **70 galleons

Harry chuckled after reading this, though he glanced suspiciously at his boyfriend, curious as to how and when he placed his bet. Draco just smirked before reading.

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

There were a few sad faces in the Great Hall. "I wouldn'ta minded, 'Arry," Said Hagrid, looking towards the young Gryffindor. Harry just smiled at the friendly half-giant, and he got a smile in return.

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**

Fudge and Umbridge looked affronted at that. Harry, noticing their faces, spoke before they started ranting about whatever they thought the Ministry actually did. "No point in arguing. No matter what you say, everyone here knows the truth about the Ministry." Umbridge looked ready to explode at Harry's disrespect towards the Ministry. Harry noticed her still fuming glare focused on him, so he casually waved his right hand towards Umbridge, where they both knew 'I must not tell lies' was carved into the back of his hand, though it was hid by a glamour charm at the moment. Umbridge paled and Draco continued.

**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.  
"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o'course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."  
"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"  
"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

Umbridge looked like she was about to yell, but Harry showed her his hand again, so she just sat back in her chair, fuming.

**"Why?"  
"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."  
At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.  
Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"  
"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"  
"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**

Harry snorted. _'Oh, he got one, all right. I wonder how Norberta is...I'll have to ask Charlie later..'_ thought Harry, smirking.

**"You'd like one?"  
"Wanted one ever since I was a kid - here we go."  
They had reached the station. There was a train to ****London**** in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.  
People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.  
"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches.  
Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.  
"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."  
Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:**  
**_HOGWARTS_****_SCHOOL_****_ of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  
UNIFORM  
First-year students will require:  
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_**

**_COURSE BOOKS  
All students should have a copy of each of the following:  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk  
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot  
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling  
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch  
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore  
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger  
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander  
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble_**

**_OTHER EQUIPMENT  
1 Wand  
1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set  
1 Set glass or crystal phials  
1 Telescope  
1 Set brass scales  
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad  
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_**  
**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.**

The twins smirked. "Yep! You just have to go into a pub, then through a brick wall, go to a bunch of stores...Not really a big deal." They said simultaneously. Harry chuckled, along with many others in the hall.

**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.  
Harry had never been to ****London**** before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.  
"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.  
Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up? If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**

There were some smiles at Harry's easy trust of the friendly half-giant. The twins looked slightly green at the thought of someone having no sense on humor. Harry patted them solemnly on the backs. "I know it's hard to believe some people have to sense of humor or imagination, but its fine. You just have to ignore them." The twins nodded in agreement. People laughed at their antics.

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."  
It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it. Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.  
For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut.**

There was laughter at Harry's description. Though, some people were slightly fearing their own description.

**The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"  
"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.  
"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this - can this be -?"  
The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

Harry groaned. _'Here it comes..._' thought Harry.

**"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an honor."  
He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.  
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."**

"I wasn't aware that I left," said Harry under his breath. Those who heard him chuckled.

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.  
Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.  
"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."  
"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."  
"Always wanted to shake your hand - I'm all of a flutter."  
"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."  
"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."  
"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!"**

Some people laughed at Dedalus's reactions, while others shook their heads at Harry for telling him that he remembered.

**Harry shook hands again and again - Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.  
A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.**

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco growled at his name.

**"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."  
"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."  
"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"  
"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.  
But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.  
"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."  
Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash cans and a few weeds.  
Hagrid grinned at Harry.  
"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'."  
"Is he always that nervous?"  
"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience... They say he met vampires in the ****Black Forest****, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag - never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where's me umbrella?"  
Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.  
"Three up... two across he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry."  
He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.  
The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.  
"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."  
He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.  
The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring - Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.  
"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."  
Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad..."**

People sighed happily as they remembered Diagon Alley.  
Molly blushed. "Was that you, Mrs. Weasley?" inquired Harry.  
"I think it was, Harry dear," responded Molly.

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever -" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...  
"Gringotts," said Hagrid.  
They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was –  
"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:_  
Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there._**

"I love that poem," Harry and Luna said together. Luna smiled at Harry and he smiled back.

**"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.  
A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.  
"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."  
"You have his key, Sir?"  
"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.  
"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.  
The goblin looked at it closely.  
"That seems to be in order."  
"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."  
The goblin read the letter carefully.  
"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"  
Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.  
"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.**

Lily smiled at Harry's curiosity; she tends to be very curious herself.

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."  
Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in - Hagrid with some difficulty - and were off.  
At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible.**

"Impressive," barked Moody. People jumped, having forgotten he was there. Harry just smirked. "I remember the whole thing, now," he replied, shocking a majority of the hall. Moody nodded his head in appreciation.

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.  
Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.  
"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

Hermione was about to explain the difference, but Harry cut her off. "'Mione, I know now, I looked it up after I got back to the Dursleys. The books in Dudleys old room didn't just sit there, you know. I do actually like to learn and read, just so you know." Hermione blushed. Some people were shocked that Harry actally ;likes to learn and read, but Draco continued before there were anymore interuptions.

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."  
He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.  
Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.  
"All yours," smiled Hagrid.  
All Harry's - it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under ****London****.**

"You know that's just your trust vault, right?" asked Bill.  
"You mean I have more?" Harry chocked out.  
Bill nodded. "After the readings done, I can take you to Gringotts to show you your other vaults. The Potters are, after all, one of the richest families in the wizarding world." Harry just nodded mutely, at a loss for words. Bill chuckled and Draco continued.

**Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.  
"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"  
"One speed only," said Griphook.  
They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

"Do you have a death wish?" whispered Draco to Harry. Harry rolled his eyes.  
"No, I'm just naturally curious." Harry responded. Draco made a sound in the back of his throat before continuing.

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.  
"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.  
"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.  
"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.  
"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.  
Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least - but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.  
"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.  
One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life - more money than even ****Dudley**** had ever had.  
"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**

Draco rushed through the next part, hoping Harry's protective friends don't yell at him for being a prick in Madam Malkin's.

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.  
"Hogwarts, clear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."  
In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes.**

Hermione looked like she was about to interrupt, but was quieted with a glare from Harry.

**Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him) slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.  
"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"  
"Yes," said Harry.  
"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."  
Harry was strongly reminded of ****Dudley****.  
"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.  
"No," said Harry.  
"Play Quidditch at all?"  
"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.  
"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"  
"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.  
"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"  
"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.  
"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.  
"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."  
"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"  
"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.  
"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."  
"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.  
"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"  
"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.  
"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"  
"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."  
"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"  
But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.  
"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

"Okay, no yelling at Draco. He was 11, what do you expect? He's better now and he's apologized to many times to me about how he acted before we became friends." said Harry forcefully. Everyone who was about to scold/yell at Draco nodded and Draco continued.

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).  
"What's up?" said Hagrid.  
"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"  
"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!"  
"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pate boy in Madam Malkin's.  
"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in."  
"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were - he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles - look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"  
"So what is Quidditch?"  
"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like - like soccer in the Muggle world - everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

"No It's Not!" yelled the Quidditch fanatics. Harry chuckled and Draco continued.

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"  
"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but -"**

Tonks, along with some other Hufflepuffs, looked affronted. "I cut him off before he could finish, no use getting mad at Hagrid." said Harry and they calmed down.

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily.  
"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**

Harry shook his head. Untangling himself from Draco, he stood up and walked to the front of the Hall. He got some curious glances but he didn't explain. " I would like to clear something up. No house is better than the other; each house has its own unique qualities that make them different. We need to quit alienating Slytherins because Voldemort is from their house. There have been evil wizards from every house, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. I've done my research on the founders of Hogwarts; Salazar didn't want all muggleborns and half-bloods out of Hogwarts. He wanted them better prepared for the wizarding world before entering Hogwarts. Biased writers have described Salazar as evil and against anything related to muggles. Also, he did not want all muggles dead; he just didn't want the wizarding world too exposed to the muggle world. Salazar is not evil, he was just cunning and people feared him because he could talk to snakes and studied what is considered 'Dark Arts'. There is no difference in 'Dark' and 'Light' Magic, both can be used for good and evil, there just categorized because some seem more harmless than others. Each house has good and evil wizards, not some with all good wizards and some with all evil wizards. Keep all this in mind next time you judge someone on their house and what type of magic they study." Finished Harry, slightly breathless from the long explanation. Harry went back to his seat. Everyone was speechless until Draco started reading again, breaking them out of the revere.

**"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"  
"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.  
They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue- Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.  
"I was trying to find out how to curse ****Dudley****."**

'I bought that book later. I wonder what some people would say if they saw some books I own," thought Harry, smirking.

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."  
Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

"Professor Snape," He looked up at being addressed by Harry. "I was actually looking forward to potions, and those questions you asked that first day? I know all those answers by heart. The next day, I looked through the books I had on potions along with some I found in the library so I could be prepared for whatever else you may throw at me during class. Also, Professor, did you know I have a photo-graphic memory? I know you and others may not believe me since I do forget stuff on occasion, but that is because I misplace a memory and can not find it when I need to." Harry finished. Snape nodded, while Hermione looked like she was trying to figure something out.  
"Harry," she said after a moment. Harry turned his attention to his friend. "How do you organize your memories in the first place? You's have to somehow organize your memories to misplace one, wouldn't you?"  
Harry smiled. "Yes, I do organize my memories as well as my knowledge, thoughts and feelings." Anyone who knew what occlumency was started listening closely. "First, I focus on everything that is in my mind. After I'm fully focused, I start sorting it by memory, thoughts, knowledge and feelings. I have my sorted in alphabetical order, first by subject then by what I know about the subject. I have my memories in order of how they happened, separated first by year, then month, then week, then day, then hour, then finally minute. Feelings are sorted by day and in which order they happened. My thoughts are sorted by when they happen, what they're about and how often I have them. It can be fairly difficult if you don't know what you're doing. Also, before I go to sleep, I reorganize everything then clear my thought so I can sleep, though dreams do show up on occasion. Dreams I usually sort by themselves, but they are also sorted with my thoughts. If there are things I don't want to think about, I block them off. If there are things that I want no-one to see, I shield them off. It can be fairly difficult, but it comes naturally to me." People were surprised at Harry's speech and again were speechless just to be brought back into the story by Draco continuing.

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.  
"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present." Harry felt himself go red.  
"You don't have to -"  
"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at - an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."  
Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing.**

As if on cue, Hegwig flew into the Great Hall and landed on her masters leg. Harry petted her while listening to Draco read.

**He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.  
"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."  
A magic wand... this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.  
The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.  
A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.  
"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.  
An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.  
"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.  
"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."  
Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.  
"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."  
Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.  
"And that's where..." Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.  
"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."  
He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.  
"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"  
"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.  
"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.  
"Er - yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.  
"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.  
"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

Harry snorted. "Oh, of course he doesnt use his wand anymore," He muttered. Those who heard him chuckled and nodded their agreement.

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now - Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"  
"Er - well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.  
"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."  
Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.  
"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."  
Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.  
"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try -"  
Harry tried - but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.  
"No, no - here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."  
Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

"Ah, Ollivander does like a tricky costumer. I remember I tried 153 wands before I found the right one," said Dumbledore chuckling.  
"76," said Hermione.  
"65," said Ron.  
"82," said Draco.  
"100," said the twins together.  
"110," said Luna.  
Harry blushed and mumbled something under his breath. Draco's eyes widened and he told Harry to say it out loud. Harry sighed. "It took me 276 wands before I found mine," A lot of mouths fell open before Draco continued.

**"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."  
Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and green sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "  
He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious.."  
"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"  
Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.  
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."**

Harry got some weird looks but no-one said anything.

**Harry swallowed.  
"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."  
Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.  
The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.  
"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.  
He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.  
"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.  
Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life - and yet - he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.  
"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry - I mean, the night my parents died."  
Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.  
"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts - I did - still do, 'smatter of fact."  
Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.  
"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September - King's Cross - it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me... See yeh soon, Harry."  
The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

Draco set down the book. "That's the end of the chapter. Who would like to read next?"  
"I'll read," said Ron, surprising some. Draco just shrugged and handed Ron the book.  
"**Chapter Six, The Journey from Platform None and Three Quarters**," read Ron.  
Before Ron could continue, a note flew in front of Harry. Harry quickly read it and showed it to Draco, then Luna, the Twins, and the older Sirius and Remus. They all shared a look, they knew it was time. Harry, along with those who he showed the note walked to the front of the Great Hall.

This is what the note said:  
_Dear Harry,  
You know what to do now, everyone's been in the . dark long enough.  
Sincerely,  
HJP & DLM_

* * *

**A/N: **In the next chapter, I'm introducing Harry's twin sister. I would like your input on what her name should be and what house she should be in. I'll try to update as soon as possible!


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